


25 Days of Captain Canary

by caitastrophe8499



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Captain Canary, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21655147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitastrophe8499/pseuds/caitastrophe8499
Summary: 25 unrelated Christmas prompts focused on Leonard and Sara.Every few prompts or so will be a Christmassy epilogue from my longer stories, noted in the title.Happy Christmas!
Relationships: Sara Lance/Leonard Snart
Comments: 348
Kudos: 79





	1. Snowball Fight

Leonard shoved his hands further into his pockets, wishing, for the first time in a very long time, Mick might lose his temper and set this damn forest ablaze, just to heat up the area. Their foray into the frozen Canadian wilderness had been necessary - leaving a yeti to wander mindlessly would have negatively impacted the surrounding town and wildlife, not to mention thrown the entire Great North into panic - but that didn’t mean he was thrilled with it.

His boots crunched in the snow, faint winter songbirds chirping in the woods around them. Behind him, he could hear the rest of the crew walking behind them, Nate and Ray were talking about some nonsense. Constantine was already smoking, the smell permeating the cold air in a way that made Leonard’s nose wrinkle, but he remained quiet about it. Mick walked next to Constantine, his fingers dancing across his gun as if he had the same thought Leonard did. Zari was behind Leonard, her eyes on her tablet to make sure the timeline was calming down.

Next to him, somehow much quieter in the snow than anyone else, was Sara, her eyes darting across the woods, but a small smile on her face as she raised her face to the faint sunlight that permeated the clouds.

“You know,” Ray called from the back of the group, “this reminds me of when I was a kid.”

“The frozen tundra reminds you of home?” Zari asked from behind, her voice only slightly louder than the wind.

“No,” Ray said, grinning. “But I used to go into the woods with the other kids my age, I mean, they didn’t invite me, but sometimes they let me play.”

Leonard tamped down on the urge to feel sorry for Ray, exchanging a glance with Sara. She was still smiling, but it widened as she looked at him.

“So we’d go into the woods and have these amazing snowball fights-”

“No,” Mick growled. “I hate snow. No snowball fights.”

“Come on,” Ray pleaded. “It was so fun. And then we’d go back into the houses and we’d have hot chocolate and cookies and stuff.” He sighed. “Good times.”

Rolling his eyes, Leonard sped up, wanting to get inside before-

A soft explosion of snow pelted the back of Leonard’s head, snow falling down the back of his collar and into his sweater. He flinched, spinning on his heel and piercing Ray with the iciest glare he could possibly muster.

“Palmer,” he snarled.

Ray went pale, holding up his hands. “I didn’t! I swear!”

Leonard’s glare transferred to Nate, who backed up. “Nope, wasn’t me!”

He eyed the rest of the group, Zari’s amused but still holding her tablet, Constantine separating from the group, eyeing the rest of them, Mick glaring at all of them, and Sara-

Sara was gone.

“Lance,” Leonard started warningly.

Another snowy projectile came from the woods to the right, landing perfectly on Constantine’s shoulders and knocking his cigarette out of his mouth.

“Dammit, Sara,” Constantine said, stomping on the edge of the cigarette.

Ray laughed and bent down to scoop up a handful of snow, to get a snowball directly in the face from Zari of all people. She laughed and ducked down as Nate tried to get her.

“If you hit me, I’ll-” Mick shouted, only to be hit by four different snowballs from every direction.

Giving up, the rest of them separated, running into the trees, childish laughter echoing from the woods. Leonard scoffed, but found himself smiling nonetheless as he dove behind a tree, listening to Ray’s unsubtle footsteps and giggling.

Bending down, he packed together a small snowball, waiting as he heard Mick walking by. He leaned out for just a moment to lob the snowball towards his partner, hitting him perfectly on the back of the head.

“Dammit!” Mick roared. “I hate snow!”

Leonard grinned to himself, leaning against the tree. He looked up, staring at the snow-laden branches, and further up-

-into laughing blue eyes.

He didn’t have a chance to move before Sara stomped on the branch she was standing on, sending a pile of snow down onto Leonard, coating him completely.

By the time he cleared his face of snow, she had shimmied down the tree and landed next to him.

“Dirty play,” he muttered, brushing off his shoulders.

She grinned. “Like you’ve never cheated at a game.”

“Not that you’ve caught.”

She smiled, turning away from him.

Bad move. 

Leonard followed her, grabbing the back of her collar to hold it open and jamming a handful of icy slush down the back of her jacket.

She yelped, shivering and glaring at him. Knowing better than to show any fear, he fell into step next to her as they started back towards the ship. The rest of the crew slowly gathered up again, Ray was completely covered, and even Constantine and Mick were brushing snow off their palms.

Dancing to the front of the group, Ray’s face was nearly splitting in a smile. Though not smiling as much, Sara’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled, and Leonard decided the snow didn’t bother him quite so much right now.

“I’m making full fat and sugar hot chocolate when we get back to the ship,” Ray announced. “If you want some, meet in the kitchen in ten minutes.”

Colder and slightly more damp, they sped up back towards the ship.

Sara bumped his shoulder. “Cards and hot chocolate?”

“Are you going to cheat?” he asked.

“Always. Aren’t you?”

“Absolutely,” he promised.

She grinned at him, hooking her arm through his. 

But if she thought he hadn’t noticed the additional small pile of snow in her pocket, she was very much mistaken.


	2. Decorating - Unheavenly Creatures

“Watch it, Blondie!”

Leonard frowned from the hallway. He had been restocking the employee’s lounge with coffee - they’d been going through it like crazy now that the snow had finally plummeted on Central City. Not that it had made Gaudia any less busy; in fact, the chill in the air and holiday spirit had only increased their attendance. Placing the rest of the coffee in the cupboard, he made his way out into the club, and stopped short.

His usual night aesthetic had been supplanted with winter wonderland - tinsel dangled from the catwalk, from the bar, and from the tops of door frames. A fully decorated tree stood behind Charlie’s usual DJ booth, which was also draped with tinsel. Snowflakes hung on fishing wire from almost the entire ceiling, making Leonard feel as if he was walking into a Dr. Seuss snowstorm.

Mick was glaring upwards, a few pieces of greenery around him. “If you fall and break your neck-”

“Lance,” Leonard called, looking for his wayward bartender.

“Yeah, boss?” her familiar voice called back, somewhat strained.

Leonard looked up, feeling a sudden catch in his chest as he saw Sara on the outside of the catwalk, leaning out over the open dance floor and trying to hook a piece of something green onto the ceiling. She was more than capable, obviously, but to see her have so little regard for her safety, especially after…

“Lance,” he said shortly. “Get down.”

“Just a minute.”

“Sara.”

“Told you,” Mick muttered.

She rolled her eyes at both of them, hooking the piece of mistletoe into place before pulling herself back over to the catwalk and climbing over easily. “Fine,” she said, heading to the catwalk door.

Leonard crossed the dance floor and want back through the employee door. He started up the metal stairs, intending on meeting her halfway.

He was almost to the juncture that would lead to his room when he met her. It took him some effort to hold onto his annoyance with her, her red sweater and black leather skirt made more festive by the holly and poinsettias tucked into her hair. Her red lipstick was as bold as her lack of chagrin.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he said, taking another step up towards her. Even with her on the step above him and in heels, he was still at eye level with her.

“That I have a standard to maintain with theme nights,” she retorted, unrepentant as always. “And I want to keep my flowers.” She let her hand drift up to touch the red petals there.

“You could have broken your neck.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Sara-”

“Leonard,” she interrupted him. “I’m fine. I wasn’t in danger. Mick was there to catch me if I fell, and my hand has been at 100% for months.”

Arguing with her was always futile. He lifted his hand to take her hand - the one that had been broken in their fight with the Count just under a year ago - and ran his fingers along the bones gently. So he merely nodded and said, “And your head?”

A flash of guilt that time. But she squeezed his hand and pulled free. “I’m fine.”

“Snow said the headaches might not go away for months.” He stuck with facts, simple and irrefutable. “I know you’ve been taking more medicine lately. If you got dizzy while up there-”

“I didn’t.”

“Sara,” Leonard lowered his voice, leaning closer. “You said we’d do this together. We saved Astra and helped Constantine, and I had to sit by a hospital bedside again-”

“You weren’t the only one,” she interrupted petulantly.

“I’m well aware.” Constantine’s job had turned out to be almost as dangerous as his and Sara’s first job together, if a little simpler in its final execution two weeks ago. Though, he wasn’t sure if it’s simplicity was because it was easier or because he had been unconscious with a gunshot wound, and Sara had taken charge in making the final steps.

Her free hand rested on his shoulder, her thumb tracing the scarred bullet wound from that incident, and her expression was clouded. 

Leonard waited for her to brush her injuries aside again, and began to resign himself to the constant worry once more. It wasn’t ideal, but if that was his only price to pay to be with her then-

“I’m sorry,” she said lowly.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated with a sigh. “I just...I know I’m not completely ready, but I just wanted to feel like things are back to normal. I hate feeling weak.”

He didn’t say that she wasn’t. They both knew that she wasn’t, but it was more about how she felt.

“I figured if we just had another kickass party, maybe everyone would stop watching me and stop worrying about me and stop asking me if I was okay and you would stop-” she cut herself off.

“I would stop what?” Leonard frowned. He had been conscious not to speak to her any differently, and she was still working against his better judgment.

Sara took a breath. “You would stop treating me like I’m made of glass.”

He hadn’t, though. She was working and pulling her weight as usual, because he knew better than to try to stop her. She was still teaching her classes and-

Sara closed the distance and kissed him hard, wrapping her hands in the lapel of his suit jacket and pulling him closer. Leonard settled his hands on her hips, the smooth leather of her skirt warm beneath his hands. He pulled away after a moment, despite Sara attempting to follow his retreat.

Her brow was arched as he opened his eyes, and he knew what she meant now. Perhaps he had been a bit less...enthusiastic lately. Snow had warned him about the possibilities of memory loss and insomnia, and he hadn’t wanted to exacerbate the symptoms. And though he wasn’t wrong to be worried, he remembered now how frustrating it had been when Sara had seemed hesitant to lean on his arm for fear of hurting him.

“Sara,” he started.

“Hey, Blondie!” Mick shouted from the hallway below. “We need to finish putting up your fucking decorations!”

She stepped around Leonard, and went downstairs. “It’s fine, Len. I get it.”

He leaned against the railing and watched her go, knowing that she really didn’t.

* * *

Sara smiled as Iris and Caitlin took seats at the bar, both of their cheeks flushed with exertion. Gaudia was packed full with people celebrating the holidays, most dressed in sparkling, Christmassy colors. Charlie had even branched out a bit, playing some punk covers of holiday classics, and Ray was sporting an elf hat and ears, against their better recommendations.

“Another drink?” Sara asked.

Iris nodded, draining her previous cup and then slamming it on the counter. Caitlin smiled, but shook her head. “No, thanks.”

“DD?” Iris asked, taking the drink Sara already had prepared for her.

“No,” Caitlin smiled. “But I’d rather remember tonight, and considering that last theme night I went to, Harry had to carry me out of here…”

Sara put Iris’s dirty cup away, shaking her head. “That was a pretty awesome night.”

“Tell me about it,” Caitlin smiled, crossing her hands over one another to brush against the engagement ring there.

“One of us married, one of us engaged, and one of us getting a commendation from the Mayor for services to the city,” Iris listed, her own gold wedding band glinting in the light. “Not a bad year for us.”

“Not bad at all,” Caitlin said, and raised her partially empty glass for a toast. Iris followed suit, and Sara grabbed her water.

“To a wonderful new year,” Caitlin said.

“To a wonderful holiday,” Iris added.

“To wonderful friends,” Sara finished. They drank, and the two of them vanished back into the crowd, with a promise to come back later.

Sara continued to tend bar for a while, not surprised when Zari tapped her on the shoulder a bit later.

“Enjoy your break,” Zari said, taking her place. Sara nodded and ducked under the bar.

Usually she would run upstairs to their apartment and have a quick bite to eat, but she wasn’t in the mood. She lingered on the dance floor, not entirely interested in dancing, but even more disinterested in being alone. Eventually, she found herself leaning against the wall off to the side, her expression making it clear to those who didn’t already know her that she wasn’t looking for a conversation.

Despite their talk earlier, Sara wasn’t angry with Leonard. She was angry with herself, for a thousand reasons. She should’ve seen the trap before Leonard fell into it and got hurt. She should have moved faster to help him. She shouldn’t have made such a rookie mistake and fallen, starting all of this in the first place. She understood why he was being cautious, she just wished he didn’t have a reason to be. But she had been more careful. And she was feeling better, truly.

With a sigh, Sara considered just going back to work rather than finding a way to waste the next half an hour, when her gaze drifted up.

She saw a figure on the catwalk, between the snowflakes and tinsel, watching her. Sara met his gaze, even if she couldn’t see his eyes, familiar enough with him now to know he’d see it.

Leonard’s head gestured to the side. Toward the catwalk door. Toward their door.

Sara couldn’t help her smile then. She slipped through the employee door, and started up the stairs two at a time, despite her heels. She could hear Leonard moving, but he reached the door faster. By the time Sara got to the apartment, the door was unlocked and partially open.

She pushed it fully open to get in, seeing Leonard standing just in the entryway. Sara closed the door behind her, and Leonard strode forward, his eyes as dark as his suit.

“Len-” Sara began, unsure if she was going to apologize or try to explain further.

She did neither, as his lips pressed into her with none of the cautiousness or concern she’d felt in the past weeks. None of the tethered passion she’d been experiencing recently, and instead the full power of Leonard’s not insubstantial focus.

Her back landed against the door, and Leonard’s hands didn’t linger in the relatively safer zone of her hips, but quickly landed in their usual place in her hair and on the small of her back.

Leonard’s mouth relentlessly moved against her, and by the time he pulled away, Sara had to gasp to regain her breath, and let her head fall back against the door.

“Len-” she whispered against his neck.

“You’re on break?” he murmured.

“Yes.”

“And you’re okay?” He hesitated slightly there, giving her enough space to respond.

“Yes,” Sara said firmly.

He smiled, and Sara didn’t see any of the lines of concern that had been marring his face. “Then I think we’ve talked enough.”

With a happy grin, Sara jumped up slightly, and Leonard caught her, as he always did. She settled over his hips, shifting enough to get a faint glare from him.

“Merry Christmas to me,” Sara grinned against his lips.

“Shut up, Lance,” he muttered.

Leonard kissed her roughly, and though they didn’t talk again, Sara knew they understood one another perfectly.


	3. Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, this one is sad. Sorry.  
> Post-Destiny.

Sara woke up abruptly, her hand raised to ward off an attack that had been years ago. Sweat plastered her hair to her neck and shoulders, and even in the dim light of the night, she could see her fingers trembling.

Slowly, she lowered her arm and pressed it against her chest, trying to calm her heart, all the while making an effort to keep her breathing quiet, so as not to disturb the sleeping figure to her left. 

Getting out of bed, Sara grabbed a thick sweater, and pulled it over her head, warding away the chill from the nightmare. Silently, she slipped out of the room and made her way downstairs, flicking on the kitchen light.

She went through the cabinets, finding a small packet of easy hot chocolate. PIcking it up, she stared at it.

_ “What are you doing?” _

_ Leonard didn’t seem surprised to hear her, despite it being in the middle of the night, stirring what was in the pan, not turning to face her. “Making hot chocolate.” _

_ “We have the packets.” She took a seat at the table, pushing her sweat-sticky hair away from her face and crossing her arms to hide her shaking. _

_ He scoffed, tossing her a glance over his shoulder. “You want something worthwhile, Lance, you have to take some time.” _

Sara took out a pan and milk, adding a small spoonful of sugar to it as it began to heat up. She grabbed a chocolate bar from the cabinet and broke it up into tiny pieces, dropping them into a small bowl. Her bare feet began to get a little numb from the cold floor, but she had no desire to go back upstairs to get her slippers or socks.

_ “Make yourself useful, and I’ll give you some,” Leonard said, tossing a chocolate bar at her. “Small as you can make it.” _

_ She began snapping the chocolate into small pieces, the monotonous movement soothing her slightly. _

_ “Nightmare?” he asked, still facing the pan. _

_ Sara looked up at him, eyes narrowed. “So?” _

_ “Just curious.” _

_ “Well, fuck your curiosity,” she muttered. _

_ He chuckled, getting quiet for a second. Then he said, “Aren’t you curious why I’m awake?” _

_ “Nightmare?” Sara asked scathingly. _

_ “Yes.” _

Once the chocolate was broken up, she threw it in the microwave, heating it up in small increments, stirring it each time. She never let the microwave hit zero, stopping it just before each time. She kept an eye on the milk, not having a thermometer handy, watching for the tiny bubbles to form on the sides.

**_“It’s 180 degrees, Mr. Snart.”_ **

_ “Thanks, Gideon,” Leonard answered, coming over to grab the small bowl of chopped pieces of chocolate, and tossing it in the microwave until it melted. _

_ “I dreamed about dying again,” Sara admitted, picking at one of the tiny slivers of chocolate left on the table. _

_ “I can imagine that’s horrific,” he said simply. _

_ Sara couldn’t help her laugh. Most of the others on the ship danced around that, but not Leonard. Figured. “Yeah. It was.” She played with the chocolate pieces for another moment. “And you?” _

_ He poured the melted chocolate into the warm milk, stirring constantly and giving him an excellent excuse not to look at her. “My father.” _

Sara stirred the milk as she added the melted chocolate, keeping it moving slowly but constantly. She kept at it until it was completely mixed, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and putting it off to the side. Carefully, she poured the hot chocolate into the mug, steam rising up. She made to pick it up, then paused, opening the cabinet again, searching for something.

_ Leonard placed a mug in front of her, putting the pan in the sink. Sara picked it up and lifted it to her lips, taking a moment to smell the sweet, fragrant beverage- _

_ Leonard put his hand over the top of the mug, his fingers brushing her lips as he blocked her from drinking it. _

_ “What the hell, Snart?” she snapped, lowering it immediately. _

_ He smirked, holding up a bag of mini marshmallows. “It’s not ready yet.” _

No mini marshmallows. Unreasonably, a strong pang of grief shot through her, and she stared into the cabinet, blinking back tears.

Swallowing tightly, Sara put the pan in the sink, and took the mug to the table, curling into a chair.

_ “Well?” _

_ Sara lowered the mug, licking the rest of the melted marshmallow off her lips. She saw how Leonard’s eyes followed her movement, but didn’t call him on it. Not right now. “Didn’t know you knew your way around a kitchen.” _

_ “Hot chocolate is about the extent of my skills. I used to make it for Lisa and me, the nights my dad wasn’t home. Or the nights things got really bad.” He took a sip, the history delivered as a detached fact, though they both knew it was more. _

_ “It’s really good.” _

_ “I know.” _

_ “Do they ever go away?” she asked, after taking another sip. _

_ Leonard looked at her over the mug. She would have called his expression gentle, if she thought he was capable with showing that emotion. _

_ “No.” _

Sara sipped the hot chocolate. Though it helped, it wasn’t quite the same. She knew damn well why, but she tried to pretend it helped as much as it used to.

She tried to pretend it was just the hot chocolate that she needed.

_ “Well, that’s shitty,” she said, trying for a laugh and coming up short. _

_ “It doesn’t go away, time won’t make it less horrible,” he said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. “But you get stronger. You can deal with it easier.” _

_ “So much for putting the past behind you.” _

_ “That’s bullshit. It happened. It changes you. There’s no pretending otherwise.” _

_ Sara looked at him, unused to seeing him so blunt, no hint of his usual sarcasm or arrogance. _

_ “What do you do?” she asked. They both pretended that her voice wasn’t quite so small. _

_ “You find people who get it. You survive. You accept that it’s going to be a part of you forever, and you don’t let anyone use it against you.” _

_ “Have you found people who get it?” _

_ Leonard smiled, tipping his drink towards her. “I think I have.” _

Sara finished her hot chocolate, staring at the empty mug.

“Sara?”

Sara looked up, forcing a smile. “Hey.”

Ava rubbed her eyes, tying the robe a little tighter around her waist. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Sara said, getting up to rinse her mug. “Just couldn’t sleep.”

“Nightmares?” Ava asked gently.

Sara nodded, cleaning the mug and watching as the water went from brown to clear.

Ava came up behind her, hugging Sara about the waist and resting her cheek against her shoulder. “They’ll go away eventually.”

“Right,” Sara murmured.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“How about some water? Or tea? Hot chocolate might not be good to help you get back to sleep.”

“No, I’m okay. Thanks,” Sara said. She cleaned the pan, taking her time with it for reasons she refused to give thought to.

“Hey,” Ava said, turning her to face her. She put her hands on Sara’s hips, catching her eyes. “It’s in the past. It can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I know.”

“You’re safe. You can start putting it behind you.”

Sara smiled and nodded. “Let’s go back up to bed.”

Ava led the way up the stairs, and Sara trailed behind her. She looked back into the kitchen, her hand on the lightswitch.

_ Sara hesitated on leaving the kitchen, her clean mug drying on the counter. She looked back at Leonard, who was still lounging in the chair, lingering over his drink. _

_ “Thanks, Sn- Leonard.” _

_ He smiled. “Anytime, Sara.” _

Sara turned off the light.


	4. Ugly Christmas Sweaters - Cosmic Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short, but sweet one.

_ “Any sign, Mr. Snart?” _ Rip’s voice was small, but clear, from the tiny communicator Leonard had inserted in his ear.

Leonard resisted the urge to pull at his collar. “Not yet,” he murmured, taking a mug of eggnog.

_ “Mr. Palmer?” _ Rip’s voice asked.

_ “Nothing here,” _ Ray’s voice came through his comm.

_ “Mr. Stein? Mr. Jackson?” _

_ “Nope.” _

_ “Nothing.” _

The Legends were infiltrating an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party at the house of a rising tech star, who was making waves for his rather advanced theories of time travel. Come to find out, he had found part of Vandal Savage’s timeship, and had been reverse engineering it for years. Gideon was only able to identify the anomaly when he began to publish his findings. The Legends had been sent in to find his research, and the parts of the ship, and get out. They were posing as other tech moguls (Palmer and Stein), investors (Leonard and Rip), party goers (Jax and Sara), and security (Mick).

But, seeing as it was 2010 and Ugly Sweater Parties were all the rage, Leonard had to dress the part. He refrained from glaring down at the monstrosity he was wearing - while Ray and Jax had gone all out, things hanging off of their sweaters and lights embedded in the sleeves - Leonard had drawn a line and merely wore a classic knitted sweater. It was still garish, but not as much of a choking hazard.

_ “Mr. Rory?” _

A grunt, that most took to mean no.

_ “Ms. Lance?” _

Leonard sipped his eggnog, waiting.

_ “Sara? _ ” Rip repeated.

Nothing. He put his drink down, his eyes scanning the crowd a bit more deliberately.

_ “Mr. Snart-” _ Rip started.

“On it,” Leonard answered, weaving through the crowd.

Sara’s job had been to get into the mogul’s office, by whatever means necessary. Sara had rolled her eyes when Rip had told her that and told him they needed to get more women on the team as soon as possible, what with Kendra and Carter’s departure, because she was, “sick and tired of being the honey pot.”

Leonard saw Mick moving as well, his dark suit sticking out like a sore thumb in this festive colors. Making his way through the party, he looked for any sign of Sara’s vibrant hair, and saw nothing. He and Mick crossed paths at the owner’s bedroom, Mick shaking his head to indicate he hadn’t seen Sara either. As Leonard let himself into the bedroom, Mick took up a spot right in front of it, blocking anyone else from entering.

Shutting the door silently behind him, Leonard took in the neatness of the room. No one in here. There was a door, on the other side, and Leonard heard the low murmur of voices. There were still no signs or sounds of danger, so he merely let his eyes wander over the room, hoping to find some clue as to where their item might be hiding.

A faint thud came from the next room, and the sounds of choked breathing.

Leonard moved, his hand going for his weapon, cloaked by a new piece of technology from Ray. He pushed open the door into the opulent bedroom and paused, seeing two figures on the bed-

Sara looked up from where she was perched on the back of their target, smiling as she slowly choked out this century’s biggest thing in technology with a strand of lights from her sweater. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He leaned against the door. “How’s it going?”

“There was a minor inconvenience,” she said, her muscles flexing as the man tried to fight her off, his face slowly turning purple. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Someone wasn’t feeling friendly enough to share.”

“Need a hand?” he asked

“Please. Want to check his desk?”

“My pleasure.” He tapped his comm as he pulled open a drawer, tapping on the sides. “I’ve got eyes on the target.”

_ “And Ms. Lance?” _

“Alive and well,” Leonard answered, ducking down to get a better look at the underside of the desk.

Sara grinned at him as the man below her shuddered, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“We may have to make a hasty exit,” Sara added into her communicator, stepping off the unconscious man and gathering her lights.

A heavy sigh from Rip. “ _ Understood _ .”

Leonard reached back, finding a small latch on the inside. He pulled it and the false bottom opened up. “Good there?”

Sara finished hauling the man onto the bed, checking his pulse. “He’ll be fine. Just a headache when he wakes up.”

Feeling a piece of metal, Leonard pulled it out, recognizing one of the timeship’s versions of a black box, containing all sorts of information. He tapped his comm twice, connecting him with Gideon. “I have the item. Does he have a backup anywhere?”

**“Negative, Mr. Snart. It appears Mr. Musk is too familiar with technology to trust it.”**

“Perfect.” He tapped out to the main channel. “We’ve got it. Let’s go.”

“Wonderful. Rendezvous in ten.”

“Understood,” Sara answered.

“Shall we?” Leonard asked, gesturing for her to go first.

Sara grinned, grabbing his collar and pulling him down to her lips, kissing him hard. Leonard could feel the faint press of teeth alongside her lips, her bloodlust under control, but still present. Her ring bumped against his throat, the press of metal adding a thrill. He was only able to break free when she let him, her fingers loosening and finally setting him free.

“What was that for?” he asked, irritated at how easily she could make his voice drop.

“Alibi,” she responded unapologetically. She started out through the sitting room, stopping by the door, and waiting for him.

“You better follow through later,” Leonard muttered.

Sara laughed, hooking her arm through his, as they stepped out into the party again, Mick moving away from them without a backwards glance as they all began to head for the doors.

“I will,” she said, leaning against his shoulder. “I promise.”


	5. Singing Christmas Carols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is my favorite so far.

Sara was warmer than she expected to be when she first saw Gideon’s creation for her. Upon hearing their next jaunt was to Massachusetts in the winter of 1867, she hadn’t thought the long dress and coat would be sufficient. But, as she picked her way through the snowy streets of Boston, the chill didn’t get past her velvet hat or lined jacket, even if it was a little too tight to allow her the usual freedom of movement.

The heeled and laced boots, on the other hand, could burn in hell.

Between the ice, the large crowds around the Parker House, and the shoes, Sara found it increasingly difficult to navigate her way through, which was especially frustrating from someone who was basically a ninja. Gritting her teeth, she ignored how her ankle nearly gave way again, determined to get through it one way or another.

“Do you need a hand?” Rip asked from her right. “If the clothes are difficult for you-”

“No,” Sara said sharply. “Thanks.”

He hesitated, then gave her a small nod, pushing his way to the front of their little group as he pulled out the tickets for the reading.

“There he is!” a voice exclaimed.

Craning her head, Sara caught sight of an older gentleman in a heavy fur coat. Guards around the building tried to keep the masses at bay, but Sara saw a woman reach out and snag a clump of hair from the man’s coat, holding it above her head ecstatically. With her success, others grew bold and the crowd surged forward. Sara was shoved from side to side, several inches shorter than the majority of the people around her, even with the boots. Her ankle turned again, and she winced, looking for Rip or Ray or-

From her side, an arm was extended silently.

Sara cut her eyes over, though she already knew who it was, even if he looked very different.

Leonard was wearing much of the same as Ray and Rip - the white, high-collared shirt and vest, the long dark coat, the dark pants - but there was something about Leonard that made the ensemble work much easier than it did on Ray. Perhaps it was the gloves, which Rip had gone without, or the jaunty angle of the hat perched on his brow, which kept slipping off of Ray’s head.

Perhaps, as Sara was beginning to suspect, it was something else entirely.

Whatever the reason, the silent offer from Leonard didn’t grate as roughly as the overt questioning from Rip, so Sara took his arm, leaning on him as they shoved their way through the crowd to the hotel. Though she was warm, she could feel the heat coming through his jacket, and leaned into him instinctively.

The crowd continued to roil and roar around them, and Sara was knocked into Leonard a couple of more times before he shifted, putting his arm around her shoulder and sheltering her a bit more. She could have easily handled it, but Rip had impressed upon them (with significant glances towards Sara) the importance of not making a scene at this highly public event.

“The timeline is shaky enough at this point,” Rip had said many, many times. “I’m not the first Time Master to come to this point, and we won’t be the last. We have to be careful.”

So she leaned into Leonard, who didn’t make one snarky comment, which was almost more off putting.

“Think this will be as easy as Rip says?” she asked him, uncomfortable with the silence.

“Never is,” Leonard said, guiding them through to the barricade. They were right behind Ray and Rip, Mick, Jax, and Stein remaining on the ship in case they needed a distraction or extraction. “It should be simple,” he continued, keeping his voice low. “Just grab the piece off the mirror and go, but it  _ is _ Hunter’s plan.”

Sara laughed, drawing a small smirk out of Leonard, both of them watching the crowd. Rip pointed out his three teammates to the guard, his tickets in hand. A few of the crowd tried to shove their way in, but Ray and Leonard shouldered them out of the way, and the four of them entered the Parker House.

It was a beautiful building, five floors high and an attic in the top. Luckily, they knew exactly what they were going for - the mirror on the third floor, where a far less anal Time Master had left a piece of technology that mimicked what it saw.

And seeing as how Charles Dickens was about to recite parts of  _ A Christmas Carol _ in it, not a great combination.

However, as far as missions went, it was a good one. They managed to get in, and up to the third floor with Rip’s tickets and Leonard’s ability to unlock doors, where Sara distracted the owners and Ray pulled the piece of tech off the mirror. They started out, and it was only when the reached the street, moving through the crowd again, that Sara exhaled.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Ray said. “Usually something always goes wro-”

“Shut your mouth, Palmer,” Leonard interrupted. “Don’t jinx it.”

“We should head back,” Rip said, pocketing the piece of tech.

“I’ll meet you back there,” Leonard said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’m going to take a walk.”

“Mr. Snart, we aren’t on a sightseeing-” Rip started, but Leonard had already turned and walked off.

“I’ll go with him,” Sara said. “See you back at the ship in a few hours.”

“You’re not an encouraging pair,” Rip called after her.

She ignored him, following after Leonard.

Even with the heels, Sara managed to catch up to him quickly. She slipped her arm through his again, feeling his quick flinch, but he recovered.

“Assassin.”

“Crook,” Sara retorted.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I know, but I need a break.”

With that, Leonard relaxed slightly beneath her hand, and they continued down the street, away from the crowd and into the center of the city.

The snow was starting to fall, though Sara was saved from most of it by the black bonnet around her hair. The brim of Leonard’s hat began to fill with snow, and he had to brush it off periodically. The streets were still busy, people out and walking. Many of them nodded or smiled at her and Leonard, obviously assuming they were a couple out for a stroll.

Lights started coming on, lamps and lanterns lighting up along the street and casting an otherworldly glow on the area. They came upon a small square, where a few vendors were still out with their carts, selling this and that, and a quintet was singing Christmas carols, obviously inspired by the visitor.

Sara eyed one of the delicious looking pastries, but when the brunette vendor smiled and mentioned a price, she just shook her head and made to move on.

“We’ll take two,” Leonard said, producing two coins out of his pocket. The vendor took the money and passed over two steaming pastries.

“Do I want to know where you got the money?” Sara murmured.

“This walk wasn’t just for the sights.” He led them to a low wall, where they sat and ate the food, and the carolers began to sing again.

Sara would have proceeded on, remembering how Leonard and Mick had threatened the last carolers they’d come across, but Leonard paused near the edge of the square, his eyes on the singers.

_ “...He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all, And his shelter was a stable, And his cradle was a stall; With the poor, and mean, and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior holy.” _

They jumped into the next song after a breath, but though Leonard seemed to not pay as much attention, he still didn’t move. Sara leaned against him a little more firmly, finally starting to feel the weather seep in through the velvet and wool.

“I didn’t figure you for a caroler,” she said quietly.

He shrugged. “I’m not. But I haven’t heard that song in a long time.” He kept his eyes on the carolers, but his gaze was more distant. “My mother used to sing it.”

Sara fell silent, letting him reminisce for a few more minutes. Finally, he sighed, and straightened away from the wall.

“We should head back before Rip throws another fit,” he said, somewhat reluctantly.

Sara was about to nod, but looked up and had to stop a laugh. “Yeah, but- hang on.”

She stopped him, putting a hand on his chest to balance herself as she brushed off the snow that had piled on the brim and top of his hat. Realizing what she was doing, Leonard ducked his head down slightly.

Brushing away the last of the snow, Sara tried not to focus on how a couple of flakes got caught on his too-long-to-be-fair eyelashes, and stepped back.

“Thanks,” he said.

She took his arm again, probably imagining that he was holding her just a little tighter. It was almost completely dark when they arrived at the  _ WaveRider _ , the lights fading and the carols echoing after them. As their feet hit the grated ramp, they both separated silently, Sara dropping her arm from his and Leonard taking a step away from her.

“I think I’m going to get changed and make some hot chocolate,” Sara said, peeling off her gloves. “You want in?” She untied the bonnet, tucking her gloves into it.

“Not tonight,” he said. “Raincheck?”

“Sure.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for the walk, Snart.”

Making to step away, Sara was stopped when Leonard grabbed her hand, the cool leather of his glove an unexpected sensation. She turned in time to see him lift her hand to his lips, warm and slightly chapped from the snow. He looked up, catching her eyes with his, and Sara’s breath stuttered in her throat.

He pulled away just far enough to speak. “Anytime. Goodnight, Sara.”

She hoped her voice didn’t sound as breathy as she imagined. “Goodnight, Len.”

Leonard let go and, with a wink, headed down to his room.

Sara watched him go and decided on a cold shower over hot chocolate.


	6. Die Hard - Between Diversions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Die Hard - Between Diversions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha! I'm not dead and I might actually finish it this year. I think I have through Day 20 already completed, so look forward to me actually being productive!

“It isn’t.”

“It is!”

“You’re wrong, Palmer. It isn’t.”

“But it is!”

Leonard crossed his arms and faced Ray, “ _ Die Hard _ is not a Christmas movie. It’s a movie that happens around Christmas.”

Leonard couldn’t believe that he was having this conversation on Christmas Eve of all times, but here he was. Debating with a grown man as their other grown friends, and he used both terms loosely, looked on.

“That makes it a Christmas movie!” Ray insisted.

“With that logic, any movie that contains Christmas is a Christmas movie,” Leonard said.

“Yes!”

“What about  _ Gremlins _ ?” Leonard countered.

“Yes,” Ray said, though he sounded slightly unsure.

“ _ Edward Scissorhands _ .”

“Yes.”

“ _ Mean Girls _ ,” Sara interjected from where she was sitting on the edge of the counter next to Leonard.

Ray hesitated.

“Exactly," Leonard said victoriously.

“ _ Iron Man 3 _ ,” Mick suggested, a bottle of beer in hand, despite the fact that it was ten in the morning.

“Okay, but-”

“ _ Batman Returns _ ,” Rip said.

“ _ Rocky IV _ ,” Jax added.

“ _ Die Hard _ is a Christmas movie,” Ray said. He crossed his arms and set his jaw in such a way that Leonard knew there would be no arguing with him.

Rolling his eyes, Leonard was about to end the conversation with a final, brutal quip, when Gideon’s voice echoed through the air.

**“Pardon the interruption, but we appear to be -”**

An explosion resonated through the ship, and they all lurched to the side. Leonard slammed into the counter, and he even saw Sara slip off of her perch, though she managed to catch herself.

**“- under attack.”**

Rip got up from the floor, his legs partially tangled in his duster. “Status?”

**“They appear to be Time Pirates, Captain. They’ve disabled the time drive, and have latched on in an attempt to board. If they continue with this speed, they will be aboard in four minutes.”**

Rip started towards the door, “Mr. Rory and Mr. Stein with me, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Palmer, try to get the time drive back online. Mr. Snart and Ms. Lance, delay the pirates.”

“With pleasure,” Sara said, helping Ray to his feet.

The crew made for the hallway, splitting up into their respective groups. Sara and Leonard jogged to the loading bay, weapons picked up from their room as they passed by. She knocked her shoulder into his gently, and he spared her a quick smile.

“You know,” Sara said quietly. “You have a point, but I personally do think  _ Die Hard _ is a Christmas movie.”

“I thought you were on my side, Lance,” Leonard muttered, checking his gun and beginning the startup sequence.

“I'm always on your side,” she said with a quick grin. “And it does have a healthy amount of violence, but it’s also about him and his wife, and their family.”

Leonard shook his head, his eyes on the hallway as they snuck to the loading bay.

**“Boarding is imminent,”** Gideon announced.

They heard a clang from the loading bay, and Leonard grimaced. Gideon’s four minute projection had been incorrect. They got to either side of the door, and Sara glanced in quickly. She held up ten fingers, gesturing four towards him, and six towards her. He sighed silently, then rolled his neck, pulling his goggles up.

Sara just smiled, separating her bo staff into two, and swinging it around her hand. She winked at him.

Leonard nodded, moving first. He stuck his gun through the doorway, aiming at the six on Sara’s side of the door, catching one by surprise. The glow of light made it difficult to see for the next three seconds, which Sara took full advantage of, slipping in behind Leonard and going for the three on his side of the room, unfrozen, but still a little blinded.

And then, after a few moments with Sara, a little broken.

He tried to keep an eye on Sara’s fight, but somehow some slipped behind him. He heard a beeping, and twisted around to see two of the pirates at the door, a blinking sphere held in one’s hand.

“Move it!” the pirate shouted, his weapon aimed at Sara, and lifting the sphere in the air.

Leonard threw himself across the room, knocking Sara to the side and avoiding the blast from the pirate's gun. He heard the metallic clang of the sphere on the ground, and pirates running towards the door.

Then an explosion.

Fire and heat pressed on Leonard’s shoulders and back, and he heard the crackling of flames around them. As soon as he could find his bearings, he got off of Sara, the loading bay in flames, and the door to the ship shut.

“They got past us, Gideon,” Sara said, as he, coughing, went towards the door.

“Can you open this?” Leonard asked towards the ceiling.

**“Negative, Mr. Snart. The locking mechanism has been damaged from the other side.”**

“How many got through?” Sara asked, looking around.

**“Six.”**

“Shit,” Leonard said.

Sara laughed, and Leonard turned to see what was so amusing about their situation. She was staring up near the ceiling, and he followed her gaze.

“No,” he said.

Sara just grinned.

"...dammit."

* * *

Rip cursed from beneath the main console on the bridge. Not only had the pirates damaged the time drive, but their weapons systems were offline currently, as well. Stein shook his head from the top of the computer.

“I’m sorry, Captain, but it appears we are unable to move until Mr. Palmer and Jefferson can fix the time drive.”

“Gideon?” Rip called, refusing to admit defeat.

**“Apologies, Captain. There is nothing I can do.”**

Mick grinned, lifting his gun. “Guess we get to burn some pirates.”

“Not yet,” Rip said, lifting his finger. “Do not set my ship on fire.”

“How are Raymond and Jefferson?” Stein asked.

Gideon hesitated.  **“They are in trouble.”**

Rip cursed, heading towards the door, only for it to open before he got there, four pirates entering with their guns lifted and aimed at them.

“Don’t move,” they ordered.

Mick ignored them and took a step forward, and one of the pirates shot just inches away from Stein. Narrowing his eyes, Mick stopped and lowered his weapon to the ground.

“Good. Now where’s the rest of your team?”

* * *

“Oh man, oh man, oh man -”

“Will you shut up for three seconds?” Jax hissed as he tried to reconnect the time drive. Sparks flew and he flinched, stepping back.

Ray, from his position at the door, blanched. “They’re coming.”

“Thirty more seconds.”

“Don’t have that kind of time, buddy.”

“Almost there -”

Jax was dragged out from beneath the console. “Ray, what the hell, man?”

“Shh,” Ray hissed and tugged him towards the lockers along the side of the room. They were filled with miscellany that wouldn’t fit anywhere else or was too dangerous to leave out for Mick. Ray keyed in a code and pushed Jax in, following behind him, though he didn’t shut the door entirely. The two of them crouched down behind a large metallic cylinder that had something to do with the plumbing and held their breath.

Jax flinched as he heard the first loud footsteps entering the room. Ray’s eyes were wide, and Jax shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips.

“Alright, get the time drive and those hyper fuel rods,” a voice said. A small chuckle. “Then pull those panels.”

“That’s the life support.”

“I know.”

Jax winced, meeting Ray’s eyes. If they pulled the life support panels, they wouldn’t last long enough to track down the pirates and take back their stuff. They had to move now if they -

A strangled sound. A clatter of metal. A cut-off curse. A heavy thud, then another one.

Ray and Jax remained frozen. There was no sound from out there for a minute, then a voice.

**“Mr. Snart and Ms. Lance request that you get back to fixing the time drive.”**

Jax’s head popped up and he looked out. On the ground before the time drive lay two unconscious bodies. There was no sign of Sara or Snart, but Jax looked around, seeing some small trickles of dust coming from the air vent above them. He started to smile as Gideon added, **“And secure the pirates.”**

* * *

Rip glared at the pirates as one of them started typing into the console, noting what they had on board and what they could take. Two more kept their weapons aimed at him, Professor Stein, and Mr. Rory, who was glowering from his spot against the wall. The fourth was glancing over his shoulder.

“Hey, Russels and Drett should have been back by now. Time drive isn’t that hard.”

Rip frowned, hoping that Mr. Jackson and Mr. Palmer had managed to fix it before the pirates had arrived. He looked over at Professor Stein. “Do you know if -”

“No talking!” the pirate in front of them ordered.

The one at the computer looked up, glancing at the chronometer on his wrist. “Comm them.”

The guy at the door did. “Russels, come in. Did you get the drive?” He was quiet for a second, his frown deepening. “Drett,” he continued. “Come in.”

The one at the console frowned, “Go look for them, Taggert. Comm when you find them.”

Taggert, the one by the door, nodded, drawing his gun and heading out into the hallway.

Minutes ticked by and there appeared to be no response. The one at the console kept glancing up and the ones in front of them were starting to shift uneasily. Finally, the one in charge reached up to his ear and spoke.

“Taggert, come in.” He paused. “Taggert, dammit, come in!”

There was the sound of rolling - wheels - coming from the hallway and getting closer. One of the pirates left them to aim at the door with the one at the console drawing his weapon as well.

Taggert’s unconscious body rolled into view, tied to one of the chairs from the lab, with red paint - or blood - on his chest spelling out -

_ HO HO HO _

Mick laughed and Rip hid a relieved smile.

With the two pirates in front distracted with their partner in the chair, the one in front of them was fighting hard not to look back and was succeeding. Which was unfortunate, as Ms. Lance lowered herself out of the vent above him, and dropped to the ground silently behind the pirate.

Even Professor Stein smiled as Sara tapped him on the shoulder. He whipped around, but Sara caught his wrist and with a painfully sharp snap, broke it. As he screamed, the other two pirates turned around in time to see Leonard drop from the air vent just in front of them. He straightened, gun already in hand and aiming at them.

With an irritated roll of his eyes, Snart drawled, “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers.”

* * *

They were back in the kitchen, pirates defeated and sent on their way after Jax and Ray had combed it over for scraps they could use, hot chocolate in everyone’s mugs. Sara leaned against Leonard’s side, sipping her chocolate as Ray took in a breath.

“But  _ Nightmare Before Christmas _ is definitely just a Halloween movie, though.”

“Palmer,” Leonard started. “How can someone so smart be so wrong about so many things?”

Sara grinned and pressed a little closer to him, feeling his arm wrap around her. In all, a wonderful Christmas Eve.


	7. Tree Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Tree Hunting
> 
> AU where Len comes back from the Oculus and they don't talk immediately.

Leonard let out a small sigh, ignoring how Sara’s shoulders went ramrod straight as she glared at him.

“You going to admit that we’re lost yet?” he drawled, leaning against the nearest tree.

“Shut up,” she muttered, stomping through the snow. “I know it was by a pine tree.”

Leonard pointedly looked around them, where they were surrounded by a literal forest of pine trees. The magical dryad-like creature that had escaped into the forest had led them on a merry chase through the woods until they were completely turned around, then vanishing as the light snow obscured their footsteps entirely.

Add to that the little scrape he and Sara had gotten into when the dryad had somehow managed to make the trees come alive and attack them, where they’d lost their comms in the snow, and it had been a hell of a day.

Coming back to the  _ Waverider  _ had been a surprise to him, as much as it had been the rest of the crew. Come to find out he’d missed four years, a few deaths, and now magical creatures were running amok, and he was still struggling to find his place. With Sara captain now, he wasn’t sure where he stood - was he her friend and teammate, subordinate, or opposition?

Safest answer was opposition, hence her current attitude.

“That narrows it down.”

“Our tree had a nest at the top and no branches on the bottom three feet.”

“Right.”

“We came from the west,” Sara said, her voice tight. “So let’s head back that way.”

“Brilliant.”

She whipped her head around to glare at him again, but he saw her wince as she did so. The words were out before he could stop himself.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she snapped, her hand reaching up to touch her shoulder. When the tree had thrown her, she’d landed on her shoulder, but he thought she’d been unhurt, from how quickly she’d jumped back up again.

“Let me -” He moved forward, half-expecting her to step away as he failed to finish his thought. She was tense, but she remained in place as he got closer, her eyes staring over his shoulder. Leonard felt the muscle, then winced as he realized it was dislocated. He told her so. “How the hell have you been walking around?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she muttered. Carefully, she shrugged out of her coat, looping it around her arm. “Good thing you’re tall. Pull up and I’ll pull down.” She handed him the sleeves and grabbed her wrist.

“We should wait until we get back to the ship,” he said, hesitating. He’d done this a couple of times and remembered how much it hurt.

“If that thing comes back, I can’t be useless,” she argued. “One, two, three-”

He yanked up on the sleeves as she pulled down on her arm with a gasp. He flinched at the pop her arm made and she dropped to her knees, breathing harshly as the snow continued to fall around them. Leonard quickly put her jacket around her shoulders and hovered, unsure exactly what else to do.

Sara let out a few more shaky breaths, then got to her feet slowly. She was dangerously pale and blanched a little as she pulled her jacket on again. “Okay,” she said weakly. “Let’s go.”

“We can wait, Lance.”

“Wait for what?” she countered, anger sliding between the pain. “We have no comms, no way to let the team know where we are, and no warm clothes for tonight. We have to keep moving.”

“You’re still in pain and -”

“Don’t pretend you care,” she interrupted tiredly, before turning and stomping away, in an absurd pattern for the usually composed assassin.

...what?

“What the hell was that supposed to mean?” he said, following her, his own irritation edging through his perfectly controlled voice.

“That I’m obviously just an inconvenience to you.”

“You know, I certainly don’t remember you being such a pain in the ass before.”

She turned back on him, his several inches of height not seeming like much with the anger in her eyes. “I’m sure that would have changed your mind at the Oculus, huh?”

Leonard stared at her, his confusion making the anger fade as he frowned. This was the first time she’d brought up his death since the weeks he’d been back, and he wasn’t exactly expecting this tactic. He’d anticipated maybe talking about the kiss, but -

And suddenly it wasn’t anger in her face, but a stinging regret just before she looked away.

“I get that you’re still mad at me,” she said, further confusing him, “and I don’t blame you, but if you hate me, why are you still here?”

“Why would I hate you?”

Sara looked up at him, blinking. “I left you behind.”

In a painful flash, he realized how his behavior the past few days, rooted in his own insecurities, might have appeared to have been avoidance or dislike for Sara, and considering how he’d left, it wouldn’t be unexpected.

“I don’t hate you,” he said first. “And I don’t blame you. I didn’t give you a choice.”

“I should have found some way to -”

“Sara,” he said. “There was nothing you could have done.”

She crossed her arms, the wince barely contorting her expression. “Then why have you been avoiding me?”

Ah. “I...The team is new. Everything is different. I wasn’t sure where I fit.”

“You could have talked to me. We used to talk. Before.”

And how many times had he held the deck of cards, planning on asking her for a game before losing his nerve at the idea she might say no? “I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear some of the answers.”

“Answers to what?”

A couple of cardinals flew past them, the snowfall lightening somewhat.

Leonard took a breath, knowing that this was his chance. “Is there still a place for me on the team?”

“Always,” she said immediately, no trace of joking on her face.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Why’d you kiss me?”

Sara somehow seemed to move closer, though her feet remained in place. “Trying to fit a future in a moment. And you never tried to steal it.”

“Was it pity?”

“No.”

“And now?”

“Nothing changed for me. You’re the one who was being an ass.”

“Guilty.”

She smiled, one of the first real smiles he’d seen from her since his return. “I missed you, crook.”

A sense of belonging settled beneath his feet, leaving him feeling more sure of himself than he’d been in weeks. “I missed you, too, assassin.”

Her eyes drifted over his shoulder and widened slightly. Leonard followed her gaze, seeing a pair of cardinals on the branch above them, next to a nest. He looked to the side, seeing the narrow clearing they’d landed the Waverider in.

“Nice leading, Captain,” he said with a smirk, the two of them heading back to the ship.

“Blind luck, Captain,” she answered with a grin.

They found the invisible gangplank and headed up. Before Leonard left the cargo hold, he paused and looked back at Sara.

“After you get something for that shoulder, how do you feel about a game of cards?”

Her smile was answer enough.


	8. Dancing - Once Upon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: Dancing - Once Upon  
> A little short and a lotta sweet.

Leonard leaned on the railing of the Verdant club, looking down at the relatively small crowd below them. Normally, it would be packed through the roof, but Thea had closed it down for Sara’s birthday/Christmas party and had only invited their friends and family.

Below, he could see Mick and Thea at the bar, the two of them laughing about something. Quentin was in the corner by Oliver Queen, the two obviously talking business. Sin, a kid who Sara had met coming home from work one night was next to Lisa, who had come in from Central City with her boyfriend, Cisco, and a couple of their friends - Barry, Iris, and Caitlin. Rip, Leonard’s newest coworker, was present, along with Raymond Palmer, who’d done some consulting work for the company.

Without active criminal records, Leonard, Sara, and Mick had discussed several possible futures. Fall back into old habits was Mick’s original suggestion, but with Sara being so close to her father, running cons here in Star City would’ve put a damper on that relationship. And Leonard was pleased with the idea of not having to look over his shoulder for the first time in his life. Still, finding something that suited them was challenging.

So when Mayor Queen had approached them about trying to identify a corrupt politician, and the three of them, him, Sara, and Mick, had not only identified him, but exposed him, that had opened up a few other avenues of employment that he hadn’t exactly expected. Now, the three of them ran a business, where they focused on uprooting and exposing corruption. They were in high demand. And they were very good.

Business was so good, in fact, that they were about to open up another such company in Central City, with Barry at the helm. Which reminded him, he had to talk to Allen at some point tonight and give him the rundown on their newest target - some eccentric billionaire named Savage. It was a tough one, and they might actually have to combine resources.

But tonight wasn’t a night for business.

“Hey.”

He glanced over, seeing Sara, a vision in gold and red. The smile that tugged at his lips was entirely unintentional, not that he ever really tried to stop it.

“Hey, doll.”

She passed him a glass, the dark liquor boding well. As she sipped from her own glass, he noticed the faint tightening of her eyes as her side pulled.

“You okay?”

She cut her eyes at him, the blue dancing as she smiled. “I’m fine. It takes more than a thick-headed misogynist to hurt me. It was worth it.”

Leonard smiled in return, recalling with a very pleasant feeling how he’d introduced Sara as the muscle and the bodyguard hired to protect their client had laughed. Sara had demonstrated her skills and the bodyguard wasn’t laughing for long.

Sara leaned against his shoulder, the blonde curls Thea had artfully created cushioning her head slightly. He put his hand on the small of her back as they stared down at the crowd. The floor itself had been decorated for the occasions - a decked out Christmas tree and holly in one corner, and a pile of presents and balloons in the other, melding together in the middle of the dance floor without too much chaos. The music was upbeat and only occasionally Christmassy, making it easy for the groups below to dance and mingle without overwhelming conversation.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“I am.” It sounded unconvincing, though.

He looked down at her, a faint frown. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Doll.”

“Nothing,” she insisted, smiling now. “Really.”

Still not entirely convinced, he narrowed his eyes at her and turned back to the dancing below. Sara leaned against him quietly for a moment, then inhaled.

“But, this night could be better.”

He arched a brow, unsurprised. “How so?”

“You could dance with me.”

His immediate answer was no, but it was her birthday. And Christmas. He was stuck, and she knew it. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he downed his drink and started towards the stairs. Sara must have been surprised, because it took her a moment to follow him down to the ground floor. Mick caught his eye and smirked, but Leonard ignored him and turned to face Sara.

The gold dress was long-sleeved, as she tended to prefer, but her long legs were on display, the black heels she’d borrowed from Thea still not bringing her up to Leonard’s height. Not that she still couldn’t take him to the ground, but he enjoyed being taller than her. Whenever they met with potential clients - or targets - it was always amusing to watch people underestimate her due to her height.

She was smiling now, her eyes sparkling as she came nearer and put her hands on his shoulders. He wasn’t great at dancing, but she didn’t seem to mind as long as he had his hands on her waist. Muddling his way through a couple of songs, he was relieved when the next one that came on was much slower.

He pulled Sara nearer, ignoring the grins on Lisa’s, Sin’s, and Quentin’s faces in favor of leaning forward, resting his cheek against her hair.

“How’d you talk me into this, doll?” he murmured, just loud enough to be heard.

Her laugh danced beneath his fingers. “I’m pretty sure all I did was ask you.”

“Coercion.” He tugged her a little nearer.

Sara laughed again, wrapping her arms around his waist to hug him tightly.

Well, everyone in this room already knew that he’d do anything for the girl in his arms, as he'd already done it. His reputation was beyond saving as it was. Knowing that, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, not having to bend down as much as usual. “Happy birthday, Sara.”

She grinned up at him, none of the shadows in her eyes that had been there when they first met, just under a year ago. A new sense of purpose in her eyes, content with her place in life, and the three of them, him, Mick, and Sara, an undefeatable trio. Not at all where he thought he’d be at this point in his life, but he was so incredibly grateful.

She glanced up as they conveniently moved beneath the mistletoe. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he just grinned before she leaned up to kiss him. As she pulled away, she whispered, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, doll.”


	9. Cuddling by the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 - Cuddling by the Fire

Leonard dropped the lock pick again and he cursed, digging through the gathering snow. Sara shivered violently, the wet fabric of her jeans and coat not doing anything to prevent the freezing wind from cutting through to her bones. Her fingers were numb, her feet stumbling blocks of ice, and she was so very tired. She leaned against the wall, just to get some cover from the wind, hugging her arms around her as if her chilled body had any warmth to give.

Leonard looked up at her, the line between his eyes deeper than she’d ever seen it. He’d never been so clumsy before, and she knew the cold was getting to him, even though he hadn’t taken a dive into a frozen river. But his arms and hands were wet, frost forming on the black coat in the long walk it had been until they’d found this little cabin.

Giving up on searching the snow, he got to his feet and took a step back. Sara’s hypothermic mind only put together his intentions a second before his boot slammed into the door. The frame cracked enough and he shoved his shoulder against it, ignoring the shards of woods as they split off the frame. He disappeared into the room for a quick moment, cold gun in his hand (not that it would feel much different than the blizzard around them). Sara followed him, knowing that she wasn’t any good to either of them, but still refusing to let him go in alone. The relief from the wind was nice, but it wasn’t much warmer inside.

The cabin was a small, one-room place. There was a minuscule kitchenette in the corner and a large fireplace along the opposite wall. A medium-sized but thin mattress was across from the kitchenette, with a small table and a couple chairs in the last corner.

Leonard was poking around the fireplace then put his gun down on the table. He went back to the door.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, shivering through her teeth.

He glanced over at her. “Getting some wood for the fire before the storm traps us in here.” Turning back, he went to the bed, pulling off one of the top wool blankets. “Get out of those wet things before you freeze.”

“Too late,” she said, trying a smile and knowing it fell short.

Leonard didn’t smile back. Pulling the hood of his parka up, he went back out into the snow, a flurry left behind him before he shut the door. Sara slowly uncrossed her arms, feeling the crunch of snow and ice as her arms moved for the first time in a half hour. She winced as the pain stabbed through her limbs, exhaustion unable to dull it entirely. Pulling off her gloves with her teeth, she let them drop to the ground. Her fingers were tinged with blue and she couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers. Probably not good.

Her jacket was zipped up and she grabbed at the pull, but her fingers would close around it. She tried again, but the useless appendages couldn’t grasp the small piece of metal. She could see ice forming over the zipper, her breath making small clouds in the air. Grabbing the collar of her coat, she tried to pull it apart, but it wasn’t giving. She shivered, a long, full-body shake, and leaned against the table, her eyes sliding closed.

The door opened again, another burst of cold forcing her eyes open. Leonard came back in, his arms full of logs for the fire. He dumped them next to the fireplace, taking off his damp jacket and hanging it on the side of the oven, his eyes not moving over to her.

“I tried hailing the  _ Waverider _ , but no signal through the storm.”

He pushed his shoulder into the door, shoving it closed even with the broken frame. Carefully, he built up the fire and started a small blaze. Sara edged nearer to the warmth, and Leonard finally looked up at her, his brows snapping together.

“I told you to get out of those.”

She held her hands up to the fire, the fingers slightly curled and still not responding.

“Lance,” he said shortly.

“I can’t,” she said, her voice sounding too slow. “My hands won’t work.”

He straightened up, taking one step closer, then stopping. “You’re going to get hypothermia if you don’t.”

She nodded, getting even closer to the fire. She could see the steam rising off of her damp clothes, but she couldn’t feel anything.

“Sara,” he said again, taking another step.

It finally clicked what he was trying to suggest. Sara turned towards him and nodded, lowering her hands to her sides.

Leonard seemed to be holding his breath, then he stepped up to be right in front of her. He grabbed the zipper of her jacket and pulled it down, the crunch of the ice breaking beneath the pull loud, even with the growing crackling of the fire. His eyes were intent on the task, but Sara just found herself staring at him.

He’d been quiet, since the explosion at the Oculus that had nearly killed them all. Luckily, some quick thinking from Ray and Stein had let all of them escape. But since then, he hadn't made any attempt to renew their conversation about me and you. They'd barely played cards in the past few weeks and Sara wondered if he regretted suggesting a future.

“No,” he said quietly.

“Hmm?”

Leonard moved behind her to pull her jacket off of her shoulders and over her useless lumps of flesh she once called hands. He hung it up next to his coat as he said, “I don’t regret suggesting a future."

She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud. She looked down at the soaking wet sweater that was still clinging to her. She shoved her ice-cold hands beneath the hem, determined to do this at least -

Or she would have, had not her side throbbed painfully and nearly knocking the breath out of her. She listed to the side, catching herself on the table and Leonard was there when she opened her eyes again.

“Ribs?”

She nodded. When she was still, it didn’t hurt as much, but now she could recognize the ache. Leonard lifted up the side of her sweater and she caught sight of a darkening bruise on her side. Not letting her shirt fall back down, Leonard met her eyes.

“You should’ve let me handle it.”

All things told, maybe she should have. But when the zombie had lunged out of the water towards Leonard, she’d just reacted. She could argue that it had been the smartest move - it seemed impervious to cold, considering the ice-bath it was taking, and if she was injured, he could carry her, but not the other way around.

In the moment, though, all she could think was -

“I didn't w-want you to get hurt,” she said quietly.

Leonard was still looking at her. “Hands up.”

Slowly, she raised her hands as high as she could, the left not going as high as the right. Leonard pulled her sweater up and over her head, edging it over her arm. His eyes were still on hers.

“Sorry,” he said, as she winced.

“D-don’t worry,” she said, “I can’t feel much.”

That didn’t seem to soothe him, but he said, “We all nearly died at the Oculus.”

“I know.”

Leonard took a slow breath, then gestured for her to sit. She did, not leaning back against the chilled wood, and he knelt in front of her, untying the half-frozen laces of her boots.

"Nearly dying made me realize that I want a very particular future."

That made sense; their flirtation had meant a bit more to her, but she could respect his decision nonetheless. "Oh."

He pulled off her boots and her soaked socks. He carefully helped her back to her feet, then undid the snap on her pants, tugging down the short zipper and sliding down the drenched material as quickly as he could. Sara held onto the table as she stepped out of her pants.

He laid out her clothes as best as he could in the small space, grabbing the blanket and putting it over his arm. He looked back at her, standing in nothing but her underthings, which were also soaked through.

“Turn around,” he said.

She did and though she couldn’t feel anything, she could still feel him right behind her.

"Dunno how serious you were about...me and you," Leonard said quietly.

Sara found it easier to be honest when he wasn't looking directly at her.

"It's o-okay if you weren't," she murmured towards the fire. "I get it."

A faint pressure on her hips as he hooked his thumbs into the outside of her underwear and pulled them off. Another one at the hook of her bra and she let it slide off in front of her.

"That's just it, Lance. I was serious. I am."

Then the wool blanket, dry if not warm, was over her shoulders and he was leading her to the fire, helping her sit down in front of it on the thick carpet.

"You thought I wasn't?" she asked.

She stared at the flames, getting as close as possible and feeling the steam coming off of her hair. Behind her, she could hear shuffling, but she didn't turn around.

"I thought there's a big difference between...having fun and a real future with someone."

"A future with you would still be fun," she said.

Leonard sat next to her, pulling a blanket over his own bare shoulders.

“Re-remind you of anything?” she asked with a shivering grin.

He smiled a little, staring at the flames. “Yeah.”

She moved over a little, and he shifted slightly, and she was leaning against him, just like she had when they’d been freezing together in the  _ Waverider _ .

Her eyes slid closed as she could finally start feeling the heat. Her hands and feet began to tingle painfully and she shivered, rubbing them together.

"Here," Leonard said, reaching out from his blanket to take her hands in his. His hands were much warmer and she let out a little sigh as it started to soothe away the pain.

She stared at his long fingers as they gently pushed back the ache and needles.

"I've been having nightmares of-of the Oculus. If Ray wasn't able to help. If one of us had to stay behind."

"I would've done it," he tried to console her.

"That's why it's a nightmare."

He didn't say anything and eventually she looked up. The firelight cast shadows on the lines of his face and Sara felt her breath catch at the thought of him staying behind. Of him dying.

"I'm serious, too," she whispered.

Leonard stared at her for a long moment, then lifted his hand to her cheek. It was warm and her eyes slid closed as she leaned into his palm. 

"Sara."

She opened her eyes to see him lean a little closer, his gaze intent.

"Me and you," she promised.

The corner of his mouth curled up and he closed the distance between them. It was soft, unexpectedly so. Gentle and slow, his lips were the most distinct thing Sara could feel, the heat of his fingers sinking into her skull and making her lightheaded. He pulled back after a moment - or an eternity, she had no idea - his eyes dark as he looked at her.

Sara smiled up at him, but it vanished as she shivered again, leaning in towards him. Leonard chuckled a little.

“Interested as I am in continuing this, let’s wait until you’re actually able to feel everything.”

“Fine,” she muttered, unhappily.

Leonard got up, disappearing into the corner of the room for a moment. He came back laden with the few pillows from the bed and the comforter. “Move over,” he said.

Sara did, bemused as he made a small little bed on the floor in front of the fire. Once it was as comfortable as it was going to get, he settled onto the side further from the fire, holding up the edge of the blanket for her.

With a Herculean effort, Sara removed her blanket for the moment it took to slide in next to him, adding it to the top of the pile and reveling in the catch in his breath as she joined him.

They didn’t talk as they arranged themselves, both facing the fire, and Leonard pressed up behind her. She knew he was probably still freezing, but his bare skin felt like a fire against hers and she greedily soaked it up, enjoying it even more as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Jesus, you’re freezing,” he said, but he tugged her closer.

He was still wearing his dry jeans, but had lost his boots at some point. Sara’s skin was still tingling, but she knew it wasn’t solely due to feeling returning. Surrounded by growing warmth and feeling safe in Leonard’s arms, she started to drift off to sleep. Before she sunk completely under, she wrapped her fingers in his and squeezed gently.

“Get some rest, Lance,” he murmured behind her, his lips brushing her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	10. Fake Dating for the Holiday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: Fake Dating for the Holiday Party

Sara didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she was walking through the  _ Waverider  _ to her room, her jacket half off as she heard bits of the conversation from Leonard’s open door.

“Yeah, I get it, Lis, but,” he trailed off. “I don’t give a shit about -”

She stopped outside of his room. If he really wanted privacy, he could have closed it. She didn’t lean against the frame but waited.

Leonard’s back was to her as he talked on the phone, but she could read the lines of tension in them.

“We don’t need them, we’ve got -”

He broke off again, his head sinking forward. “Fine. _Fine._ We’ll go. But we’re not staying with them. Yeah, trust me, I don’t want to share with you and Ramon anyway.”

Letting out a little, bitter sound, he said in a sarcastic drawl, “Unlikely. ‘How’d you like to spend Christmas with me and my estranged family?’” he mocked. He went quiet again, then shook his head, his tone a little softer. “No, I don’t think so. It’s fine, Lis. I’ll send you the details and see you there. Bye.”

Leonard turned and went still at seeing Sara in his door.

“Make a habit of eavesdropping, assassin?” His voice was almost the normal drawl.

“Make a habit of open doors, crook?” she countered.

He scoffed, putting his phone on the desk.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked, taking care to look at the cold gun on his nightstand, rather than at his face.

“Peachy.”

She looked at him then, arching a brow.

Leonard stared back at her for a moment, then let out a sigh, softening in a way he hadn’t since all of their near-deaths at the Oculus. Luckily, Leonard had managed to freeze the bomb in, though Mick had to undergo the process of regrowing his arm, and all of them had escaped - Sara miniaturizing Ray and helping Len pull Mick out, but it had been close.

“An aunt got in touch with Lisa. Wants us to come to Christmas dinner,” he said flatly.

Sara leaned against the wall. “Your mom’s side or your dad’s?”

“Mom’s.”

Sara nodded, remember that he had told her his mom had passed away shortly after Lisa was born. “And now they want to…”

“Get to know us,” he finished snidely.

“But you don’t want to get to know them.”

He crossed his arms. “I needed them when I was a kid. Not now.” He sighed. “Lisa’s set on going.”

“With Cisco?”

“We were invited with our dates. Lisa’s bringing him, but insists I go too, since just because I have a -” he broke off and Sara waited, curious.

“A what?” she pressed.

Leonard rolled his eyes. “Lisa said I had a ‘rag-tag, loser found family aboard our tin can of temporal destruction.’”

“I don’t think that’ll fit on the side,” Sara deadpanned.

He let out a reluctant chuckle and leaned on his desk, his arms uncrossing to rest on the top of it. “She said that just because I had...family here, it didn’t help her back in Central. She said I owed her.”

Sara looked at him for a moment, seeing the lines around his eyes and thinking about his conversation.

“So,” she said slowly. “You don’t want to go, but you’re going for Lisa, who’s going with Cisco?”

He rubbed his eyes. “Don’t rub it in. I always wanted to spend my holidays with my sister and her boyfriend, along with a family I’ve never met.”

“Want me to come with?”

His hands fell down and he stared at her. “What?”

“Lisa and Cisco can hang out and make nice with the family, and you and I can drink their booze.”

“So you’re willing to pose as my fake date for free alcohol?” Leonard countered.

“Len. I posed as Rip’s date for free booze. And the chance to stab something.”

“The things you’ll do for a free drink, Lance.”

“It’ll be fun,” she said, taking a step into his room. “I don’t have plans anyway.”

“You don’t have plans for Christmas?” he asked, a little gentler.

Sara hadn’t really meant to say that. “I mean...with Dad and Laurel gone, it’s...and my mom is going on a vacation with her boyfriend, so I was just going to hang out here.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t tell you.”

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “Then, assassin, be my fake date?”

“I’d be honored.”

* * *

Leonard parked the car outside of the hotel they’d be staying at this evening before driving back to Central City tomorrow. Though it wasn’t too far outside the city limits, it was up higher, and snow was already falling, creating a picturesque view of the small, historic town in the sunset. Recognizing the champagne sedan parked in one of the other spots, Leonard turned off the engine, getting out.

The hotel doors opened and he wasn’t at all surprised to see Lisa running towards him. He braced himself as she half-threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He blamed her association with Team Flash for her demonstrative affection, but he wasn’t complaining about it.

“Hey, trainwreck.”

“Hey, jerk,” she grinned, pulling back to smile widely at him. 

The car door opened and Lisa turned, seeing Sara get out of the car. She smiled at Lisa, then greeted Cisco with a hug as he joined the group.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to ask her,” Lisa said quietly as she let go of him, dropping back to her feet.

He responded just as quietly, “I didn’t. She volunteered.” Seeing the look on Lisa’s face made him add, “As a friend.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes.

“Behave.”

“Never.”

They joined up and Leonard shook Cisco’s hand, over the whole abduction and dating-his-sister thing. They went to check-in and as they waited at the desk, Cisco spoke up.

“So, who are we meeting tonight?”

“The Roslow side of the family,” Lisa said, a faint smile in place. “Our aunt Delilah is the one who’s been in contact with me. She just moved back from England with her wife, Christine. Mom was her sister. Then it’s her brother Roscoe -”

“Roscoe Roslow?” Sara said with a grin.

“I know. And his wife Jeanine, their kids Aubrey and Daniel, so our cousins. And our uncle Richard, with -”

“Richard will be there?” Leonard asked, his spine straightening.

“Yeah,” Lisa said, frowning at him. “Why?”

“Didn’t know he was back in town,” Leonard said, ignoring the way Sara was narrowing her eyes at him. The clerk arrived and he checked them in as Lisa continued talking behind him.

“He just moved back when Delilah did, from National City,” she added for Sara and Cisco’s benefit. “He’s married to Rebecca, and they have two sons, Jeremy and Jackson. Jackson’s married to a girl named Tracy or Trudy or something.”

“Have you met any of them before?” Sara asked.

“I did, but I don’t remember. Lenny knew them better.”

Leonard could feel Sara’s gaze on the back of his head. “Let’s head up and get changed. I’ll drive us over there.”

“It’s close,” Lisa argued. “Let’s walk. It’s nice out.”

“You won’t think that when it starts snowing harder,” Cisco said, but his grin said he wasn’t going to really argue with her.

They got to their rooms, across the hall from one another, and Cisco and Lisa disappeared into theirs, promising to be ready in a half-hour. Leonard doubted it.

He went in first, the sound of the door shutting behind Sara making him sigh. He looked back at her, unsurprised to see that her arms were crossed.

“Spill, Snart. What’s the deal with Richard Roslow? You know him?”

He dropped his bag on the bed further from the door. “I knew him.”

When he remained quiet, Sara just raised her brow in that way of hers and he took a seat on the edge of the bed, attempting to remain detached and knowing he wasn’t close.

“After Mom died, things got bad. The Roslows had been around before then, and they saw the bruises, but she wasn’t going to leave him. Then she was gone, and Lewis took it out on...He didn’t hurt Lisa, not for a while. She was three the first time. He’d broken my arm a few days before and I couldn’t - I tried to -” He cut himself off and took a breath. Sara took a seat on the bed across from him, just watching, remaining quiet.

“When he went to work, I packed up Lisa and her stuff and walked across town to where Richard and Rebecca were living. They were the closest ones. So I…” He shook his head with a scoff. “I asked them to adopt us. Fight for custody. Anything to get us out of there.”

“He said no,” Sara filled in.

Leonard nodded. “So I asked them just to take Lisa. He shut the door and I never heard a word from him again.”

Sara let out a slow breath and he saw her methodically cracking her knuckles in the way she did when she was trying to control her anger. “Well,” she said, her voice tight. “We’ll just have to drink all of their best shit now.”

Unexpectedly, he let out a little laugh, making her smile.

“Get dressed,” she said. “We’ll show them up and let them see what they missed out on.”

* * *

As they approached the large house, lit from top to bottom with Christmas lights and hung with ivy, Sara could tell that Leonard and Lisa were much more nervous than their clothes suggested. Lisa was a bit more modest than usual, in a deep green holiday dress with shorter sleeves that came to her knees. Cisco had tidied himself up in a nice shirt, with a matching tie to her dress. Sara didn’t have much in the holiday area, so she was just wearing a black dress she’d made festive with some holly earrings. Len was cleaning up in dark slacks and a cobalt blue shirt with a black tie. Lisa led the way to the door, holding on tightly to Cisco’s hand, as Leonard and Sara trailed behind.

He was tapping his finger as they got close, his eyes on the large door. Sara leaned over and squeezed his hand briefly, making him look down.

“Just say the word,” she whispered, “and I can murder all of them in twenty seconds.”

“You came armed?”

“Come on, Len. I’m always armed.”

He smiled. “Twenty seconds? That old age getting to you?”

“Fifteen seconds, and I’ll put thirty bucks on it.”

The tapping stilled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The large door swung open, revealing a warm and deliciously smelling interior. A woman with greying hair in a loose bun answered it, her holiday plaid dress trailing along the floor. Her blue eyes - just like Len’s - lit up as she saw them.

“Hi,” Lisa said quietly. “Delilah?”

“You must be Lisa!” She took a few steps out into the cold, and faltered adorably between a hug and a handshake, before laughingly going for the hug. Her eyes closed as she hugged Lisa, who took a moment to respond in kind. They separated, but Delilah held onto Lisa’s hands, looking her up and down. “My goodness, you look just like Meg did at your age. I am so glad you’re here, my love,” she said warmly, her accent just barely there. “I am so very glad.”

Sara glanced up at Leonard, who was watching the scene carefully, his face polite. Realizing she was still holding his hand, she was about to let go when Delilah looked over at them.

“And you,” she said, letting go of Lisa’s hands to come down the step towards them, ignoring the snow on the ground. “You must be Leonard.”

He held out his hand, and Delilah took the hint, shaking it with both of hers. This close, Sara could see her eyes were glittering as she looked Leonard in the eye, matching his height.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, sounding honest.

“The pleasure is entirely mine,” Delilah said fervently, still holding onto his hands. “I am just...I am so happy you’re here.”

Leonard blinked and pulled his hand away, still somehow remaining polite. Delilah didn’t seem offended at all and looked back towards Lisa before wiping her eyes. Then she took a breath and seemed to shake herself off, her gaze shifting between the other two.

“I’m so sorry, where are my manners? I’m Delilah Roslow-Evans.”

“Cisco Ramon.” Another generous handshake from Delilah, before she turned to Sara.

“Sara Lance,” she said, pulling away from Len to shake her hand. Delilah went for the hug instead and Sara shared her smile with Cisco and Lisa behind her.

“It is so nice to meet you all. Please, come in! Come in!” She led the way up to the door again, opening it wider for them and gesturing for them to follow her. “Dinner will be ready in about 45 minutes, but there is so much I would like to talk to you about.”

“Darling,” called another voice, “where’re the cheap bottles of champagne? Roscoe’s getting into the good stuff and Jackson’s mixing the Cliquot with cranberry juice, the heathen. Also, I need someone to open this bottle of -”

The woman who came around the corner was a tiny thing, barely even Sara’s height, her dark eyes widening as she saw the group in the foyer, the bottle of beer in her hand forgotten for the moment.

“Chris,” Delilah said proudly, “meet my niece and nephew. Lisa and Leonard Snart.”

Christine’s night-dark skin was completed by her golden gown, her hair in an elaborate updo as she approached them. Her eyes darted over all of them, and she leaned in close. “Tell me, niece and nephew, what’s worse than mixing Cliquot with cranberry juice?”

“Grey Goose and seltzer,” Lisa answered, arching a brow.

“Red wine with Coke,” Leonard responded.

Christine shuddered at his suggestion. “Horrifying. I love it. Please, drink as much of the champagne as you want, before Jackson and Roscoe finish it off with their abominations.”

“The cheap stuff is in the fridge,” Delilah answered, “as you damn well know, since that’s all we drink.”

“Yes, but tonight’s a holiday!” Christine said, winking at the rest of them. “What’s the good of Christmas if you don’t break out the good stuff and pretend that’s all you know?” She pointed at Cisco. “Who are you?”

“Cisco Ramon,” Lisa answered for him. “My date.”

The finger moved towards Sara, who opened her mouth to respond when she felt Leonard put his hand on the small of her back. “This is Sara.”

Christine smiled. “Don’t suppose any of you have a bottle opener handy?” She held up the beer.

Cisco began fumbling for his keys and Delilah mentioned something about the drawer near the fridge, but Sara just held out her hand. Bemused, Christine passed it over, and Sara palmed off the cap without issue, passing it back to her. Christine took it, her eyes wide.

“Oh, you are going to be a terribly good time, aren’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, she proceeded to pound the entire bottle of beer in seconds, so at odds with her beautiful gown.

“Great first impression, Chris,” Delilah said, in a deadpan that sounded so much like Leonard’s that Sara couldn’t help but smile.

Christine smiled, wiping the corner of her mouth delicately and eyeing her wife. “I am not made for family functions, darling, and you know it. But, let us enter back into the fray. At least someone will be good company now.”

After hanging their coats in the front closet, they followed Christine deeper into the house. Leonard kept his hand on Sara’s back, and she figured she didn’t even mind if she didn’t get a drink.

* * *

A half-hour later, Leonard wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. He stood in the living room, perusing the bookshelves as the television played a  _ Charlie Brown’s Christmas _ , a glass of whiskey in his hand. The rest of the Roslows were distributed around the room. Some of the family wasn’t bad. Roscoe was harmless and Jeremy was intelligent, but quiet. Aubrey had nothing in her skull and spent the entire time thus far on her phone, her brother just the same. Richard had avoided any conversation with Leonard or Lisa, his wife doing just enough to remain polite, but keeping her distance. Jackson was a pig, his wife (Trixie?) had her nose in a book the entire time and never said anything. Delilah and Christine, though, were sitting with Lisa the entire time, the three of them talking. That much made it worth it.

A beeping started in the kitchen and Delilah jumped up. “We’re almost ready then.”

“I can help,” Lisa said, Cisco standing as well. Delilah smiled and the three of them went into the kitchen, the door swinging behind them. Before it stopped, Sara slid back in, and Leonard tensed at the expression on her face.

She immediately moved over to him, standing close. “Here.” She passed him something and Leonard raised a brow at seeing it was a startlingly large knife. He hesitated, and she pushed it into his hands. “Take it or I’m gonna kill your cousin, Jackson.”

He pocketed it. “Hitting on you?”

“He’s the married one, right?”

Leonard nodded and Sara rolled her eyes. The kitchen doors opened again, and Leonard looked up to see Jackson coming through, a buzzed slant to his walk as he approached them in the corner.

He could see Sara tensing next to him, so he put his arm around her shoulder, her arm going around his waist immediately as she leaned into him. It felt so natural that Jackson’s visible hesitation was just a bonus. He stood in the middle of the room for a long second, his mouth opening before the kitchen door swung open again.

“Dinner is served!” Delilah announced.

The family got up and moved to the dining room. Seeing that Jackson was making a beeline, Leonard held out a chair for Sara, taking the one next to her and leaving her between Cisco and himself. Lisa was on the other side of Cisco, next to Delilah, the rest of the family filing in and taking seats.

After a quick prayer, food started to be doled out and Leonard had to admit that it all smelled and looked amazing. Lamb and mint sauce, potatoes, carrots, salad, bread - it was something out of a holiday magazine. For a while, everything was mild, a few polite questions asked of Lisa and Leonard, until Aubrey gasped.

“I knew it was you!”

The table looked towards her, Roscoe frowning at his daughter. “Hon, put the phone away. We’re at the table.”

“But you’re Captain freaking Cold!”

Leonard put down his fork and knife. “I was.”

“The thief who had that ice gun thing?” Daniel asked.

Aubrey nodded, grinning. “Oh my gosh, you went to prison and stuff!”

The tension ratcheted up, the table turning to look at Leonard.

“Nice guest list, Dee,” Richard said, calmly cutting his lamb. It took everything in him not to glare at Richard, but Leonard managed it. 

“Snart was pardoned for everything,” Cisco said, his voice only slightly loud. “He helped save the city. The whole country, actually. Watch the news. The Flash himself vouched for him.”

“Because we should trust a vigilante in a mask?” Richard asked.

“Wait, so you were really in prison?” Jackson asked. “For what?”

“Shoplifting, vandalism, destruction of public property, and,” Aubrey gasped, looking up from her phone, “murder.”

Leonard made to push away from the table, but he felt Sara put her hand on his knee to stop him from moving.

“It was self-defense,” she said, not looking at Leonard, “and like Cisco said, he was pardoned.”

“He’s a criminal,” Rebecca pointed out.

"Please." Christine took a long sip of her champagne, putting it down loudly. “Richard was barely able to pay off the IRS to keep from going to jail for tax fraud, Aubrey’s been to rehab seven times in two years, Daniel didn’t finish high school, and I was wanted by the Russian mob, we’ve all got secrets.” She put her chin in her hand and looked at Leonard. “What do you do now, darling?”

“Government work,” he said tightly. The hand on his knee squeezed gently and he reached down, needing something to hold onto. Sara's fingers curled around his, even as she glared at Richard.

Jackson laughed, “Is it like one of those criminal Suicide Squad things like they had up in Gotham? ‘Cause that didn’t go well.”

“Something like that.”

“And you, Lisa?” Delilah asked.

“I work with S.T.A.R. Labs,” Lisa said.

“The particle accelerator thing?” Daniel looked up.

“Didn’t that also kill, like, a bunch of people?” Aubrey asked.

“You work there, too, Mr. Ramon, don’t you?” Richard added. When Cisco didn’t answer, Richard smiled. “Quite a new record we have here. Most criminals and murderers at a table at one time.” The expression was cold. “Wonder who’s the most prolific of the three of you?”

The hand on his knee vanished.

“That would be me.”

Every eye turned onto Sara as she smiled at Richard. He scoffed, but Sara didn’t blink. He stared at her, his expression fading before he cleared his throat, looking away from her. He turned his gaze instead on Delilah.

“Look, Dee, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but it’s clear that these... _ people _ don’t belong here.”

“They’re family,” Delilah argued, two spots of anger in her cheeks.

“I want them here more than you,” Christine added. “Leave and take the heathen with you, too.” She gestured at Jackson.

“They’re criminals and murderers,” Richard said, pushing away from the table. “Just because Meg made a bad decision doesn’t mean the rest of us should suffer for it.”

Lisa started to get to her feet. “We should go,” she said, quietly.

Richard laughed, gesturing to her, “And here I thought you were the dumbest one of the bunch.”

“Hey,” Cisco said, standing too. “Watch it, man. We were invited.”

“You are not Roslows,” Richard said. “You will never be Roslows. And I, for one, don’t think you should be here.”

“If Delilah wants them here,” Jeanine started, “then they can stay. And they’ve been much nicer company than you,  _ Dick.” _

Lisa was looking at Delilah, her eyes tearing up. “Thank you so much for inviting us, but we’re gonna go.”

“No, please, don’t -” Delilah started.

“Yes, you should go,” Richard cut in.

“This isn’t your house, Dickie,” Christine snapped, her eyes narrowing at him. “Shut the hell up and sit down.”

"Why are you even here?" Richard asked them. "You want money? Gonna steal our silverware, _Captain Cold?"_

Leonard got to his feet slowly, Richard leaning away from him just a bit.

"I," Leonard said quietly, "don't want anything from you. Lisa wanted to get to know our family."

"You are not family. You were a mistake."

“As was coming here,” Leonard said.

Delilah was on her feet. "We don't turn our backs on family, Richard!"

Leonard pushed away from the table, Cisco leading Lisa out under his arm. They were halfway to the entry before Leonard realized Sara was still at the table. She was sitting, but her hands were clenched and he recognized the look in her eyes.

“Why not? It’s not like this is the first time Richard turned his back on family."

“Sara -” Leonard started, but he felt rooted to the spot.

"Excuse you," Rebecca said, frowning. "He never -"

"He did." She didn't look away from Richard. "He turned his back when Len came to see him as a kid, with a broken arm, carrying a hurt toddler, and begged him to adopt them."

In the moment following her statement, there wasn't a single sound, until -

"Richard?" Rebecca whispered in shock, eyes wide.

"Dad?" Jeremy added, sounding shocked.

"And when you said no," Sara continued, relentless, "Len asked you just to take Lisa."

Lisa looked up at Leonard, her eyes spilling over. "Lenny, you didn't," she whispered.

"And instead, you sent them back to the man who hurt them, only to judge them today? How dare you."

"I asked you years ago," Delilah said, her voice choked. "I asked you to find them."

Sara got to her feet. "You should be so lucky as to be part of their family. Because they know the value of the word. That it means you have their backs, through good and bad. That you can count on them, no matter what. That they'd do anything for their family, just like we'd do for them, because we love them."

Leonard wasn't sure he was breathing at all.

She looked down at Richard, his wife and sons staring at him as if he was a stranger, the rest of the room silent.

"I'd take a Snart over a Roslow any day," Sara said quietly. “And thanks for illustrating why.”

She crossed the room towards Leonard, sliding her arm around his waist like she did it every day and the four of them walked out, the Roslows silent behind them.

* * *

The walk back to the hotel was quiet and very cold. Lisa and Cisco walked along ahead, and Sara and Leonard once again brought up the rear. They’d all grabbed their coats from the closet, but the wind had picked up, crawling beneath her dress and making her shiver. She crossed her arms a little tighter in front of her before an arm landed over her shoulders.

Leonard tucked her into his side without looking at her, his face still politely calm.

Sara chewed her lip for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

Leonard didn’t seem to hear her at first, then he shook his head and looked down. “What?”

“I’m sorry I said all that. I mean, he deserved to get yelled at, and I know you wouldn’t say it, but he was just such a -”

“Dick?” he suggested with a smile.

She laughed reluctantly, but she went quiet quickly. Leonard’s smile faded a little and he looked back ahead to Lisa.

“I meant it, though,” Sara said, looking at his profile.

He stared at the snow for a moment, then turned his eyes to her. “Everything?”

Sara thought back to all the things she had said. “Everything.”

“Thanks for the backup, Lance,” he said quietly.

“Anytime.”

When they got back to the hotel, they went up to their rooms. Lisa hugged Leonard tightly for a long moment, then, to most of their surprise, pulled Sara into a tight hug as well.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You Snarts are my favorite,” Sara said quietly.

Lisa laughed a little, squeezing her even tighter for a moment, then let her go. Cisco nodded at the two of them, then followed Lisa into their room, closing the door behind them.

Leonard unlocked their door and held it open for her. Sara stepped in, relieved that the room was warmer than the hallway. She grabbed her bag and took out the bottle of whiskey she’d stashed in there before leaving, holding it up.

“Definitely.”

Sara grabbed the two glasses from the counter and poured out a decent measure before passing it to him. They settled on opposite beds, facing one another.

“Don’t suppose you brought a deck of cards?” he asked after a moment.

“I did, actually.”

“Deal ‘em out, Lance.”

They played a couple hands, not talking, but Sara could feel him starting to relax. It was at that moment, obviously, that there was a knock on the door.

Leonard stilled, meeting Sara’s eyes.

“I can always just kill them,” she reminded him quietly.

With a smile, he got to his feet and opened the door. In it, stood Lisa, Cisco, Christine, and Delilah.

Leonard didn’t say anything but gestured for them to come in, closing it behind them. Sara sat up on the bed, moving the cards and drinks to the nightstand before going to stand in line with Leonard.

Delilah’s eyes were red and she was wringing her hands. “I know that you probably don’t want to see or speak to me, and I understand, but I just wanted to...I was in England when Meg passed. I asked Richard to find you. To send me your information. He said he was trying.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t enough, though. A few years later, I hired an investigator to find you, but by that point, you were going by Captain Cold and I thought that you didn’t need us. And I was afraid that you wouldn’t want us...”

Sara leaned against Leonard slightly, but didn’t say a word.

“Then when the Flash vouched for you, I knew that you were good. We moved back here, and I tracked down Lisa myself, to give you my number.” Delilah stared at Lisa, then Leonard. “I should have done more. I should have dropped everything to find you, but I didn’t. I will never forgive myself for that.”

Christine cleared her throat. “Richard was asked to leave the house. By Rebecca, actually. Jackson left shortly after. They aren’t welcome anymore.”

“You don’t need us,” Delilah said, when no one spoke still. “You clearly don’t need what the Roslows have to offer - bitterness and arrogance and resentment. You have your family.” She gestured to Sara and Cisco. “A wonderful, loving, and very brave family who does what a family should. But I would still very much like to get to know you, because you two are clearly more worth knowing than anyone who shares my name.”

Lisa looked up at Leonard, who stared back at Delilah, as if gauging her sincerity.

“I am sorry,” Delilah said. “For letting you down. Both of you.”

Sara lifted her eyes to Leonard, waiting.

Leonard exhaled slowly. “What are your feelings on whiskey and poker?”

Delilah sniffed, wiping her eyes. “I’ll take you to the cleaners, love.”

“Ramon, want to grab some chairs?” Leonard said.

Sara grabbed some more glasses and there was some shuffling as they all found their seats, Cisco and Lisa on one bed, Delilah and Christine on chairs, with another between them to serve as the table, and Sara and Leonard on the other bed.

As Cisco finished pouring them all a drink, Leonard dealt out the cards, his eyes on his task.

“So,” he said, not looking at them, “what was Mom like when she was Lisa’s age?”

Delilah smiled, and Lisa grinned at them. Leonard sat back on the bed and Sara leaned into him, just a little.

“Well, she was beautiful and a little too clever for her own good.”

* * *

Hours later, Leonard watched as Delilah and Christine hugged Lisa again, their conversation quiet, but clearly promising more visits and time spent together. Lisa hugged them back tightly and let go, stepping back into Cisco’s hold as they turned on him.

Delilah hugged him, despite his attempt to go for a handshake. She pulled back and met his eye with a teary smile.

“You’re a strong man, Mr. Cold. I’m just glad you’ve got a strong woman looking out for you.”

Leonard glanced over to where Sara was smiling with Christine, demonstrating how to take off a bottle cap without an opener. “Me too.”

“Take care of your family,” she said. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Merry Christmas,” he told her.

“Happy Christmas, love.”

Christine came over and shook Leonard’s hand, but held on, gesturing for him to bend down a little to hear her speak.

“Darling, if you don’t put a ring on that girl’s finger soon, you’re going to regret it. If I were thirty years younger and not with the love of my life, I’d be giving you a run for your money.”

He smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It was truly lovely to meet you. I hope to see more of you soon.”

“Same,” he said, surprising himself.

The two of them left with another wave at the four of them, vanishing into the elevator in a blur of gold and plaid and smiles.

Lisa let out a long breath and smiled up at him. “Thanks, Lenny.”

“Merry Christmas, Lis. Ramon.”

“Merry Christmas,” they echoed back, before returning to their room.

Sara raised her brows at him, echoing his own exhaustion, and went back into the room to clean up the glasses and cards. She grabbed the mostly empty bottle of whiskey and poured the last bit of it into his glass.

“Not a bad night, all things considered,” she said after a minute.

He chuckled, seeing her smile in return.

“Thanks, Lance. For everything.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You don’t need to thank me. You’d do the same for me.”

She said it so bluntly, so confidently, that he knew she was being honest. She believed in him, trusted him. 

“Well,” he said, figuring if not now, when? “I feel like you weren’t properly compensated for all of your help this evening. You didn’t get to drink nearly enough of their alcohol.”

She laughed, “I don’t need to be compensated, I was happy to -”

He interrupted her. “So how about a drink with me? Tomorrow night, when we get back to Central City. Just me. And you. And me and you.”

She stilled, putting the cups down on the counter before looking back at him with a grin. “You asking me on a date?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Leonard smiled. “Good.”

She was still grinning up at him, her eyes bright, and Leonard cleared his throat. "So, tell me, where was that knife stashed tonight?"

"Play your cards right tomorrow, and I might show you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of important dating tropes, but it got a little away from me. Upside: it sparked a reverse version, with Sara needed a fake date...so look for the beginning of that relatively soon...


	11. Ice Skating - Christmas Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11: Ice Skating - Christmas Lights 
> 
> Warning: Super fucking sweet.

“Absolutely not.”

Sara crossed her arms and Leonard had to stifle his irritation that she was once again only in a long-sleeved flannel while he had to finally break and put on his coat, to her amusement. He’d forgone the gloves, but that was mainly only due to pure spite.

“Come on, Len. We need another one.”

“I don’t care what you need, Lance. No.”

Mick grinned from the middle of the ice rink. “Don’t waste your time, Blondie. Snart’s not a skater.”

Ray stretched, nearly falling over, but somehow managing to stay upright. “Guess that means we win by default.”

On the small ice rink, an impromptu game of ice hockey had formed, the tree-lighting festival still in full swing around them. Wave Rider Run was thriving, no gangs or parolee fathers to ruin the holiday. After a full year here, it still sometimes felt like something out of someone else’s life. The garage was going strong, the bar was standing tall, Lisa was running the hotel part-time, and Cisco had recently cornered Leonard in a very uncomfortable conversation for both of them. He’d never felt more at home and most days, he was grateful he’d ended up here.

Today was not one of those days. They still had a good two hours before sunset and the tree lighting, and Ray had opened his mouth about his experiences with high school hockey, which Nate took as a challenge, and then the teams began to form.

On one side: Ray, Mick, Gary, John, Charlie, and Zari, who looked dangerously bloodthirsty on her skates.

On the other: Nate, Sara, Cisco, Harrison, and Lisa.

“Give it up,” Mick pushed. “We’ll just wipe the floor with you.”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed and Mick just continued to grin. Knowing that he was being played didn’t help anything.

“Come on, Lenny,” Lisa pressed.

“Yeah, come on, Caulfield,” Cisco grinned, the fake name still an ongoing-joke for him.

Caitlin, the town’s doctor, and Gideon were on the sidelines.

“You can do it, Leonard!”

Gideon smiled. “Or you can sit it out with Rip over there.”

Leonard took one look at the bedraggled cop on the other side of the festival and sighed, knowing he was beaten. He got to his feet amidst cheers from Sara’s team and mock-trash talk from Mick’s.

He took off his jacket as Sara came over with a pair of skates that were oh so conveniently his size.

“You are going to owe me, Lance,” he said as he began lacing up.

“Only if we win.”

With a shake of his head, wondering when he became this person, Leonard put on the ice skates and wobbled over to the rink. He didn’t fall on his face immediately upon stepping onto the ice, which was better than he expected, but it was a close thing.

Lisa just grinned at him, a look in her eye that told him she’d be lording this over him for years, and handed him a hockey stick.

Nate ran through the rules with a lot of unnecessary terms that Leonard paid zero attention to. His plan was to linger on the sides of the rink and avoid any and all contact with the puck and other players.

That went out the window the second the puck dropped and Cisco somehow hit it back to rest right at Leonard’s feet.

In his defense, he managed to send the puck up towards the goal Gary was standing in. Unfortunately, Mick came bearing down on him and Leonard tried to move backward, but tripped over himself and fell.

Mick grinned down at him. “Nice move.”

He skated off, surprisingly limber on his feet for someone so large.

Sara skated over, holding her hand out for him. Leonard glared at her but took the offer. She pulled him to his feet.

“You gotta work on that stance,” she said quietly with a wicked little smile.

He couldn’t help his laugh, despite his efforts. “Well, I’d much prefer to be doing that at home.”

He steadied himself when he got to his feet, with Sara’s help. They made their way back into the middle of the rink, and it began again.

All of his attempts to avoid any action were fruitless, so he began trying to make sure it ended as quickly as possible. Harrison was doing decently at the goal, but their team was struggling. Mick was running ragged over all of them. Before Leonard knew what happened, the other team was up three points to their two, thanks to Nate and a lucky shot from Cisco, with a rather underhanded distraction of Gary from Lisa.

“Lance,” Leonard said when they returned to their side for a brief break. “You’ve gotta take out Mick.”

“Agreed,” said Nate. “Sara takes down Mick, I’ll get the puck to Cisco, and Lisa, you’ll distract Gary.”

“I don’t think it’ll work a second time,” she admitted, taking a sip of water. She let her eyes drift over to Leonard.

The rest of the team looked at him, too, Sara’s thrilled grin clearly supporting this terrible idea.

“Take one for the team, Leonard,” Harrison said.

He didn’t want to. But he really wanted to win and be done.

“Fine.”

They returned to the rink, Leonard avoiding the main action to skate behind Gary’s goal. Gary tried to watch the game, but Gary’s eyes followed Leonard around. Sara was keeping Mick busy away from the others, blocking him every which way. Cisco was coming up with the puck, but Leonard knew Gary wouldn’t stay focused for long -

He winked at Gary, who dropped his stick as the puck went sailing into the goal.

Among cheers from his own team and the crowd that had formed around them, Leonard smiled as he skated past Constantine.

“Dirty move,” John said.

“Criminal,” Leonard reminded him, getting a laugh out of the priest before returning to his side.

“Almost time to light the tree,” Gideon announced, cupping her hands around her mouth to be heard over the chatter of the crowd that had formed around the rink, bets being made and laughter echoing over the ice. “Next shot wins.”

The puck began sailing around the rink so quickly Leonard could barely keep up. Ray had it, then Nate, then Zari, then Lisa slid in and stole it, passing it to Leonard, who knocked it over to Cisco as quickly as possible. Sara skated in between Mick and Charlie, separating them, and Leonard, cursing his stupid friends, skated directly into Zari’s way, forcing her to dive to the side, because he sure as hell couldn’t stop. Nate ran straight into Ray, knocking them both to the ground as Cisco passed it to Lisa, who shot it towards the net and -

“Yes!” Sara shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

Cisco skated over to Lisa, wrapping her in a hug as they cheered, the ones who hadn’t participated cheering loudly, as if the game actually mattered.

Sara came over towards him and threw her arms around his neck, vastly overestimating his ability on the ice. The two of them went down in a tangle of skates and sticks, though Leonard managed to catch Sara before her head knocked into the ice, knowing he’d be feeling it tomorrow.

Sara pushed her hair out of her face with a grin. “My hero.”

He rolled his eyes, but she leaned down and kissed him, right there on the freezing ice, and he didn’t really mind.

The game ended, and they all removed their skates, splitting off to various spots for the tree lighting. It started to snow, everyone laughing and commenting on the serendipity as if it hadn’t been snowing for six weeks already. Leonard held on tightly to Sara’s hand as the crowd got a little crazier. She tucked herself under his arm.

"Shall we go to our spot?" Sara asked, waving her little flask at him.

He smiled, memories of Gideon’s roof among some of the best of his entire life, but shook his head. "Not tonight." He pulled her towards the tree instead.

She frowned at him, jokingly suspicious, but slid her hand into his as he led her towards the tree. They found a somewhat private spot, leaning against the gazebo they’d spent the morning working in. Leonard leaned against the chilled frame, and Sara settled against his front, facing the tree.

They waited in silence, his arms around her shoulders as she leaned back against him.

The lights went out around them, plunging the whole town into darkness. In the moment before the tree came on, Sara tilted her head back to brush a kiss against his cheek.

The lights came back on, and though Leonard knew he’d done a damn good job on the tree this year, he was still watching Sara.

* * *

“It’s official,” Cisco said with a sigh. “Your brother is better at this than I am.”

Lisa laughed and leaned against his arm. “It does look pretty good.”

“You’re supposed to side with me,” he reminded her, the grin belying it.

“How about some more hot chocolate instead?” She held up the thermos she’d brought from their house, which Cisco had already had half of, but he reached for it nonetheless.

He stopped, mid-reach, his eyes widening. “Oh, snap, I totally forgot. I have something for you.”

“An early Christmas present?” she said. “I thought I found all of them.”

Cisco, who was in the act of getting to his feet and putting the cups back in the bag they brought, went still and looked at her. “Not funny.”

“A little funny,” she countered, helping him clean up nonetheless.

Once they were ready, Cisco led her to the tree. Though she wouldn’t bring it up, the tree did look especially good this year. Despite Leonard’s inability to move out of any clothes other than blue or grey range, he had an eye for the lighting. The tree looked perfect and the lights in the town were beautiful. The crowd was still heavy this close to the tree, but Cisco led them to the base of it without too much of an issue.

She also wouldn’t say it aloud, but Christmas here was probably the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, though she wasn’t certain it was solely due to the lights.

Cisco reached under the tree to pull out a familiar-shaped box, about four inches square and a few inches deep. Figuring she knew, Lisa took it with a smile at Cisco, his brown eyes shining in the twinkle lights.

“Thanks, Cisco,” she said quietly.

“Merry Christmas.”

She opened the box to reveal an ornament, almost identical to the one hanging up on the tree that he’d give her last year. Smiling at Cisco, she said, "It's beautiful. Thank you."

He smiled back at her. "Read the back."

Lisa flipped it over. '" _ 2020, Lisa Snart, will you marry… _ '" she trailed off, staring at the final, two-letter word, unable to say it. She looked back at Cisco, who was down on one knee and reaching into his pocket.

"Lisa," he said, his voice nervous, but clear. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. You coming here last year was the third best thing that had ever happened in my life. The second best thing was that you went on that date with me, even though I still question your opinion on  _ Die Hard. _ And the very best thing was the day you came back to stay."

He swallowed, and Lisa couldn’t find it in herself to even begin speaking, but it appeared Cisco wasn’t done.

“I’ve never met a girl like you, because there is no one else like you, Lis. You're smart and brave. You're confident and surprisingly good at ice hockey. You can throw a mean punch and make the best hot chocolate. You saved my life from the League when they came back.”

“Yeah, well,” she managed to say, her voice small, “you saved me, too.”

Not from the League, but from the half-life she’d been living, running and hiding from her monster of a father, until Cisco had tracked her down and helped put away her father for life, no parole. Until Cisco had insisted that he cared for her, that she was worth caring for. Until Cisco told her she deserved a real life, and even if it was without him, he wanted her to have it nonetheless.

Cisco’s smile got wider and he pulled out a little box. He opened it up, revealing a gold band with a dark blue sapphire in it. "It's been a year, but I knew from our first date that I was going to love you for the rest of my life. Actually," he said with a little laugh, "I knew your second day here when you were wearing my hat and giving me a hard time."

Lisa reached up to touch the ragged hat she still wore, the blue the same color as the sapphire. 

"So, Lisa Snart, the most beautiful girl, inside and out, will you marry me?"

Lifting her eyes, she saw that most of the town had gathered around, John and Gary leaning against one another, Mick holding up Ray, who was still a little concussed from the game. Gideon and Rip, with an uncharacteristic smile. Zari was grinning and Charlie looked like she was wiping away a tear. Caitlin was nearly bouncing in place, Harrison's arm over her shoulder keeping her as still as possible.

And Lenny was there, his arms around Sara, smiling at her.

She looked back at Cisco, the nicest, purest person she'd ever known and who’d chosen to love her, of all people.

"Yes."

Cisco grinned, the lights seeming to get brighter as the cheering started. He managed to get the ring on her hand and a swift, transcendent kiss before they were set upon by their friends and family. They were hugged and congratulated, everyone seeming just as happy as she was, though they weren't newly engaged.

It seemed to pass in a blur, though she remembered the champagne and the feel of the ring on her finger. She also remembered Leonard slipping in to give her a hug.

"Congrats," he said in her ear.

"Thanks," she said. "You knew?"

"I knew. A very uncomfortable conversation where he tried to ask for my blessing, while simultaneously trying to state that you were independent and didn't need my permission. It lasted far longer than necessary." He smiled at her. "He's a good guy."

"I know, jerk."

Leonard just continued to smile and Lisa waited, but he didn't respond with the usual.

"No 'trainwreck?'" she finally asked, with a little laugh.

Leonard shook his head. "Nah. You're not a trainwreck, Lis. Love you."

He leaned in to kiss her on the head and she smiled, staring at the ground. "I love you, too."

Leonard melted back into the crowd, but she caught a glimpse of him taking Sara's hand and starting back towards their house, the two of them lit up by the lights as snow fell around them. She smiled after them, feeling Cisco come up and put his arm around her waist.

This was her family. This was her home.

She was so grateful to have been stranded here in Wave Rider Run.


	12. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12: Shopping.

Sara was struggling.

The throngs in the mall were not where she wanted to be, but it was Christmas Eve and she still didn’t have all of her gifts. That wasn’t entirely true. She’d gotten all of her gifts, except one.

The most important one.

Desperate, she grabbed her phone and dialed a number. She hid in a small alcove that led to a bathroom

_ “Hello?” _

“Cait,” Sara breathed out, rubbing her eyes.

_ “Sara? How are you?” _

“I need your help.”

She heard a clatter on the other end.  _ “Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Barry!” _ Caitlin shouted off in the distance.

“No, wait, that's not -”

There was a click and Caitlin Snow’s voice echoed slightly, revealing she’d been put on speakerphone.  _ “Barry’s here. Where are you?” _

“I’m fine,” Sara said firmly. “I don’t need Barry.”

_ “Well, that’s hurtful,”  _ Barry said, sounding pouty.

_ “Grow up, Allen.”  _ That was Harrison’s voice.

Sara’s headache got worse. “You know what? Nevermind.”

_ “Sara,”  _ Caitlin said.  _ “What’s wrong? The last time you called me, you had been stabbed. Six times. I’m sorry I overreacted.” _

“It’s stupid. I just...I need help picking a present.”

_ “You said you got all of them weeks ago,”  _ Iris jumped in, apparently there too.  _ “When we went out last time you were back, you said that was it.” _

“Yeah,” she said, leaning against the wall and watching the shoppers around her. “Then Leonard came back.”

_ “Ohhhh,” _ said Cisco.

Sara closed her eyes again, wondering how long she’d be regretting this conversation.

Leonard had magically reappeared on their ship as they were going through what Gideon called a “time storm.” An influx of uncontrolled energy. She’d warned them that they might see strange things, but none of them had anticipated seeing Leonard Snart materialize on the bridge, obviously as shocked as they were. Ray had screamed, Zari nearly killed him, and Constantine had been halfway to hugging him thinking it was Leo before things had cleared up.

Once everyone had calmed down and it was proven to be Leonard, no worse for the wear, he’d rejoined the team as if he’d never left, save some significant differences. She looked down at her hand, running her finger over the silver ring she’d worn for years.

They hadn’t talked, not really. They hadn’t played cards. It wasn’t like he was avoiding her, but he never sought her out. For the first few days, Sara kept her distance, wondering if he needed to adjust, but as the days turned into a week, then two, it got harder and harder to make that walk to his door, until she was afraid she’d never make it.

So this present was a chance to make up for that. Hopefully.

_ “So you haven’t talked,”  _ Caitlin said, not entirely a question, but Sara answered it anyway.

“Not really. I want to, I just...so I thought if I got him the right gift, maybe it would help.”

_ “Have you found anything yet?”  _ Iris asked.

Sara shrugged. “A bottle of whiskey.”

_ “What are you trying to say with your gift?” _ Barry asked, recovering from her comment enough to participate, apparently.

She picked at some loose threads in her sweater. “‘I missed you. I’m glad you’re back from the dead, still interested in that future you talked about? Because I am.’”

_“Think you’re asking a lot from a whiskey,”_ Harrison commented.

“So what the hell do I get him?”

_ “Get him something sentimental,” _ Cisco said.  _ “Like a memento of one of your trips together or something.” _

“He doesn’t do sentimental,” Sara countered. 

_ “But you do. And I’d argue that the crook is hella sentimental from the way Lisa talks about him.” _

_ “You could get him something that shows you pay attention to him and his interests,”  _ Harrison jumped in.  _ “Something he’d enjoy.” _

_ “It’ll be hard to get a bank vault on board,” _ Barry interjected with a laugh.

Reluctantly, Sara smiled.

_ “Maybe get him something personal to you. Share something with him that matters to you or was important to you,” _ Barry said.  _ “He’d appreciate you opening up to him, and you said you used to talk a lot.” _

“Yeah,” she said skeptically.

A new voice interjected and Sara recognized Ralph’s voice.  _ “Just get him something you know he likes. Easy.” _

Sara’s eyes dropped to her - his ring. “Maybe.”

_ “You want to be with him?”  _ Iris asked.

Sara remained quiet.

_ “Then give him something the two of you shared. Just the two of you.” _

“Okay,” Sara said, still unsure.

_ “Sara,” _ Caitlin said. There was another click as she apparently picked up the phone, and the murmurs of the others faded as Caitlin made their conversation a bit more private. _ “All of those gift ideas are fine, but the best gift would be you actually telling him how you feel.” _

“Easier said than done,” Sara answered.

_ “But even if it’s hard, isn’t it worth it?”  _ A pause.  _ “He  _ died _ , Sara. He died, and now he’s back, and you have to take your chance.” _

“I know.” She looked up, seeing a novelty shop across the way. Something caught her eye, and an idea began to form. “I know.”

_ “I hope you find the perfect thing,” _ Caitlin said gently.  _ “Merry Christmas.” _

“Merry Christmas, Cait. Thanks.”

_ “Bye.” _

Sara said goodbye and hung up. Chewing on her lip, she crossed the crowd to the other side of the mall, the display at the front not exactly a best seller, but there was one that maybe…

* * *

Leonard stared at the water, waiting for it to boil. Leaning against the counter, he flexed his hand, still a little numb from the walk back to the ship. He’d gone out for a Christmas drink with Lisa and Cisco Ramon, of all people, and he hadn’t hated it.

“Hey.”

Leonard looked up from his hand, seeing Sara standing in the room. He’d almost missed her tendency to be so incredibly silent all the time. She’d been out, too, visiting Jax, otherwise, maybe he would have invited her out with him.

But that would mean he’d actually have to talk to her, which he had...yet to do.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it was that he just wasn’t sure what to say. And she hadn’t made any overtures, either. Not that he felt unwelcome, but it was just a risk. The last risk he’d taken had gotten him killed.

“Hey,” he answered.

“How’s Lisa?”

He managed a smile at that one. “She’s good. Ramon, too.”

“Good.” She shuffled a little, then held something out to him. “Here.”

Leonard took it, mildly bemused. “What’s this?”

“Merry Christmas. Christmas Eve, I guess.”

It looked like a solid box, panels of wood on either side, but two stuck out a little further than the rest. It was heavier than he expected and he could feel things rattling inside of it. He arched a brow at her.

“It’s a puzzle box,” she explained, a faint tint to her cheeks.

“Is there something valuable inside?” he asked, masking his smile as much as he could.

“It is to me.” She smiled at him, a little tightly, and turned on her heel to head back to her room.

He stared after her for a long time, until he was distracted by the kettle boiling behind him. Putting the box down, he made his hot chocolate, though his mind was elsewhere.

Drink in one hand and box in the other, Leonard returned to his room. Once there, he shut it behind him, placed the still too-hot chocolate on the nightstand. He sat on the bed, turning the puzzle box over, definitely feeling something moving inside. One side of the box moved a little and he slid it up, able now to move another side. Inside, he could see the shape of gears within the box and he smiled, manipulating the box with fingers long used to cracking safes and picking locks. This was just a very different kind of lock.

He should have gone to bed, but the box was so intriguing, and he let his drink get far too cold. It was so different from anything he’d gotten before. Mick usually got him alcohol, Lisa usually got him clothes he’d never wear, but this was different than those kinds of gifts. This was...thoughtful. He ended up spending a good hour on it before it finally clicked open, revealing a compartment on the bottom. Out popped a bottle cap, a bullet, his silver ring, a deck of cards, and a letter.

Putting the box aside, Leonard took out what was in the tray. He put his ring back on, the familiar weight settling into place. Curious; he’d given it to Mick. The bullet was from some kind of rifle, but he wasn’t sure. The deck of cards was worn and clearly the one they used when they’d played together. The bottle cap niggled at something in his memory, but he couldn’t place it. Unfolding the letter, he rolled the bottle cap over his knuckles.

Her handwriting wasn’t neat, more of a scrawl. He could see spots where she’d crossed things out and tried again. For some reason, it made him smile, the great Captain Sara Lance stumbling over her words to him. Settling back into his bed, he read.

> _ Len, _
> 
> _ I think I asked everyone on the ship what to get you. What do you get the guy who can steal anything he wants? I wanted to get you something to celebrate your first holiday back. We missed you. Sometimes I think you coming back has just been a dream, but then I see you with a cup of coffee or back in your seat and I know it’s real. _
> 
> _ But the gifts are a little weird, so here’s some help. _
> 
> _ The box is obviously because you like puzzles. I think that’s part of why you’re such a good thief. You like challenges and you’re so good at them. Every time I thought there was no way out, you would walk in and find something. Sometimes they were good solutions. And sometimes not so much. The Oculus was a bad one. _

There was a bit just after that was crossed out a bunch of times. He stared at it, deciphering some of the words:  ~~_ Somet-...wish I’d staye-...died side by sid-...-ouldn’t have been alo- _ _... _ ~~

The bottlecap stilled as he focused on the words.

> _ The bullet is the shot that you stopped me from taking in Russia. When I was considering joining the Legends, Laurel told me to be a hero in the light. I didn’t actually think it was possible, especially when Rip told me to kill Martin. Then you told me not to. That it wasn’t me anymore. I think that was the first time I thought I could be better, because you believed in me, when you had no reason to. When I gave you no reason to. _
> 
> _ Do you remember the bar we went to the first time we were benched? Rip was such an ass when we first started out. When I was back in Star City, I tried to work with the Arrow’s team, but it never felt right. I never entirely trusted them, and I know they didn’t entirely trust me. Who would trust a murderer? I was used to fighting alone for a long time. When we fought in that bar, though, that was when this first felt like a team. You and me and Mick. You watched my back and you trusted me to watch yours. Killer, Klepto, and Pyro. The bottle cap is from the beer we drank. _

Another bit was crossed out, but not as thoroughly. ~~_I wish I would have asked you to dance aga-_~~ Leonard looked at the bottle cap in his hand, now recognizing the brand from the ’70s. Squeezing it in his palm, he felt the edges bite into his skin as he kept reading.

> _ The deck of cards is a gift and a question. Why haven’t we played since you got back?  _

A lot of crossed-out words here, then the writing got more deliberate, the pen marks deeper.

> _ I’ve missed our games. I’ve missed talking to you. I missed you. When you were gone, sometimes I’d just play solitaire and talk to you, even though you couldn’t hear me. When Leo was here, he talked about moving on. But that felt like forgetting. I didn’t want to forget you. _
> 
> _ Your ring. The first night after you died was - _

A half dozen crossed-out words before she settled on 

> - _ unbearable. Don’t you know it should’ve been me? I was the one living on borrowed time. I was the one who had to atone. I should have died. For so long, I wanted to. But not you. Never you.  _
> 
> _ That night, I stole the jump ship. I was going to go back to the Oculus and force you to leave. I was going to save you, because you’d saved me. Because you deserved to live. Because I didn’t want to be in a world where you died and I didn’t. I had the coordinates in when Mick came aboard. We fought and he ended up knocking me out. Lucky shot. When I woke up, I was in my room and Mick was sitting there. He asked me what I was thinking. _
> 
> _ I said I wanted you back. Mick asked why.  _

A bunch of crossed-out words he couldn’t decipher, but Leonard sat up, holding the letter with both hands as he read.

> _ He said that you wouldn’t want me to do it. That you made your choice and I should respect it, because you didn’t put your neck on the line for anyone. Except him. And me. He gave me the ring and said that you would’ve given it to me if you’d known. If I’d told you. _
> 
> _ I wore it every day for 4 years, 3 months, and thirteen days. From the day you died until Christmas Eve, when I put it in this box. _
> 
> _ The last gift is this letter. I’ve never been great at being open or honest, and I figured writing it would give me the best chance. I don’t know if it matters or if things have changed, but I had to tell you. Because not telling you is one of my biggest mistakes. _
> 
> _ I love you. _

He wasn’t sure he was still breathing and he lowered the paper for a moment before lifting it back up again, rereading the words written there before moving on.

> _ It’s okay if things have changed. I know time was weird in the Oculus. I know things might be different for you. But if they’re not, if I’m not too late, if you want to play cards...you know where I am. _
> 
> _ Merry Christmas, crook. _
> 
> _ Sara _

Leonard put the letter down, staring at it for a long time. His heart was pounding like he’d just run a marathon, and he waited until it started to slow. Then he picked up the letter, refolding it and putting it back in the tray of the puzzle box with the bullet and the bottle cap. The deck of cards was left out as he closed it back up, leaving it on his nightstand next to his gun. Then he grabbed the cards and started off into the halls.

He didn’t even consider what time it was until he realized they were on night power, the hallways darker than normal and the heating confined to their rooms. He ignored it, heading right for the front of the ship.

Sara was at her desk in the office when he got there, the lights low enough not to be too much a shock after the dark halls, but still bright enough for him to see her. She was reading something, an empty glass next to her, and some music playing quietly, courtesy of Gideon, no doubt.

She looked up before he said anything. “I thought you went to bed.”

“Got distracted by a good puzzle,” he said, pleased that his voice came out so calm.

Sara’s lips parted and her eyes immediately darted down to where the ring now sat on his finger. She looked back up at him, getting to her feet, but no words came out of her mouth.

Leonard lifted the deck of cards. “How about a game? Since it’s not that late at all.”

The smile he got was almost a better gift than the one she'd given him.

“I’d love to,” she whispered.

“Good, you shuffle, I’ll deal.”


	13. Christmas Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13: Christmas Drunk - Wicked Games  
> Upping the rating just a touch here...

Leonard was  _ humming. _

Sara bit her lip as she tried not to smile, watching him through her lashes as they leaned against the wall of the house they were in. The holiday party continued to go on around them, Laura and Freddie’s hospitality making it easy to enjoy themselves. It was a much larger house than Sara had expected; apparently, Freddie came from money. Brian and Mary were there, along with a few of the twins’ friends - another couple named Sam and Ash, a huge man Mick would have gotten along with named Phillip, and a few more Sara had met a couple of times over the past four years.

The two couples had stayed in touch and though they didn’t get to see them as often as Sara would have liked, this particular party had lined up with some well-deserved rest for the crew, and they’d been able to go. It had started low-key, with some food and games, but then Sam took over the music and Phillip had somehow convinced Brian to help him in starting a knife-throwing competition, which Sara had won, and that sort of set the tone for the rest of the evening. Sara had partaken in a bit of Ashley’s special eggnog, which was stronger than she expected for the petite blonde, but it seemed that Leonard had indulged.

He noticed her gaze, smirking down at her. “What?”

“Are you drunk?” she asked, grinning now.

Leonard raised his brows, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her to stand in front of him, her back to the party. “I might be. Been a while.”

“How long?”

“Never.”

He pulled her a little closer and dipped down to brush his lips against her throat and Sara gaped, pleasantly surprised. Drunk Leonard was happy and handsy? How had she never experienced this before?

“Never?” she echoed up at him, keeping their conversation quiet. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he said against her skin. “Matter of trust.”

That dimmed her smile slightly, the thought that Leonard had never felt safe enough to get drunk before. But the fact that he was doing so now, stemmed the darker thoughts, and she focused on the present.

“Think we can sneak away for a few minutes?” he said, sending a shiver down her spine.

Sara pulled away slightly and grinned up at him. “Right now?”

“Scared, Lance?”

Despite being married for four years since the whole Cupid incident, and her legal name change, Leonard still had a tendency to call her by her maiden name and it never failed to make her smile.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You are drunk.”

“Not that drunk,” he said, the smile moderating slightly. “And I’m positive that I would very much like to be alone with my wife.”

From behind them, she heard Freddie come in from outside. “I’ve got the fire going. Grab a few drinks and let’s move this outside before Phillip puts another hole in my wall.”

“That was a necessary act of violence,” Phillip announced. “It gave me a funny look.”

There was a bunch of noise as the chaos moved outside, most of the party shuffling between the kitchen and the patio, grabbing drinks and jackets, and it was more than a little confused.

As soon as they were alone in the room, Sara grabbed Leonard’s hand and pulled him upstairs to one of the guest bathrooms she’d used the last time they were here. The party was mostly confined to the bottom floor, so it was doubtful that anyone would come up here.

The second she shut the door behind them, Leonard was on her, backing her against the door. Sara reached back blindly to flip the lock before she looped her arms around him up to pull him down to her.

Though his technique wasn’t as refined and focused as it usually was, Sara found that he more than made up for it in enthusiasm. He wasn’t usually very vocal, but tonight, Sara had to smother his groans between her lips. His hands roamed over her, curling over her hip and drifting over her breast like he wasn’t sure where to land. The slight frantic attitude had Sara’s heart racing; he was always so controlled, so focused on making sure she enjoyed herself, and though that was deeply appreciated, this level of  _ want  _ was something he rarely let loose.

She hadn’t had nearly the same amount of eggnog, but she was just as intoxicated.

After a few, deep, toe-curling kisses, his hands leaving warm tingles in their wake, Leonard grabbed her hips and turned her to face the mirror. Sara put her hands on the counter and bent over, rewarded with an obvious tremor in Leonard’s hands as he reached for his belt. She smirked at him in the reflection as he slid his hands up the dress she was very happy she’d decided to wear and deftly removed her panties.

He slid in slowly and Sara had to clench her jaw not to make a sound. Leonard’s exhale sounded like a shout in the silence. He pulled out and moved in again just as slowly, hitting her at exactly the right angle. Hands tight on her hips, he started to lose control again, moving faster, the noise obscenely loud. Knowing that they didn’t have too long and the rush too much, Sara reached down, getting herself to the edge as Leonard shifted slightly, swearing under his breath as he saw what she was doing.

Meeting his eyes in the mirror, Sara grinned, giddy with it all, and he mirrored her expression, his breath coming shorter. She plunged over the edge, grabbing onto the counter to keep her knees from giving out, and Leonard’s grip on her hips was going to leave bruises as he buried himself so deeply it ached. He curled down until he rested his head on her shoulder.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

Sara laughed and they fumbled around for a few minutes, cleaning up and distracted by kisses and wandering hands.

When they were somewhat decent, Sara straightened Leonard’s collar and kissed him.

“I love you.”

He smiled under her lips. “I love you, Mrs. Snart.”

The warmth that filled her had nothing to do with the eggnog then. She kissed him again, and he stole another one before she darted out of reach. “I’ll go down first. Come on down in a minute.”

“Sure thing, Captain,” he drawled, his tone making her consider another round...

Sara shook her head at him, then smoothed down her dress once more. 

She opened the door and froze as she saw Laura was leaning on the wall across the hall, her arms crossed and brow cocked up.

“Hello, darling,” Laura said, her smile barely contained.

Sara bit her lip, trying to seem repentant, but Leonard popped his head out from behind her.

“Hell of a party, Laura.”

Losing the battle, Sara laughed, covering her mouth. Laura’s mouth twitched and she shook her head at them.

“You two are terrible.”

“Please,” Freddie’s voice came from down the hall. “Like you’ve not done far worse.”

“I never.” Laura glared at him, but Freddie was unmoved.

“Or shall I remind you of the Turkish bathhouse, where your brother finally tried to talk to me unexpectedly?” he said, looking down at her.

Sara watched the blush spread across Laura’s face.

“For shame,” Sara murmured.

“He still doesn’t know,” Laura said with a laugh. “I’m very good at holding my breath.”

“On that note,” Freddie said loudly, handing Laura a longer blue coat. “Shall we join the rest of the party?”

Sara went down the stairs with Laura, leaving Leonard and Freddie to bring up the rear.

“Turkish bathhouse, huh?” Leonard asked.

“I’m full of surprises, Mr. Snart.”

They returned to the party outside, Leonard and Freddie talking in low voices that were periodically interrupted with laughter from one or both of them. Sara watched them with a smile, and as Ash walked by, Sara grabbed her arm.

“Hey, can I get that eggnog recipe?”


	14. Holiday Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14 - Holiday Lights  
> I do like this one! It's sweet.

**Dec. 10**

Leonard Snart climbed up the stairs to his apartment, unsurprised to see the room across from his had it's door wide open. He paused in the doorway, looking at the small blonde inside, halfway into a closet and cursing under her breath.

"You stuck, Lance?" he asked, leaning against the door.

She withdrew, her hair a little frazzled, but smiled at him. "No. I'm trying to find all my Christmas stuff."

"I thought you were going to National City to visit your mom." That’s what she’d said the other night.

“I was,” she said, straining at a box. “But she’s got a conference or something out here, so she’s coming here to see me. We’ll do the soup kitchen Christmas Eve, and the whole dinner thing the next day.”

“That’s great,” he said. He knew she’d been disappointed that her sister and father were staying in Star City for the holidays and that her relationship with her mom was complicated.

Sara got to her feet, running her hand through her hair as she shoved a box off to the side and closed the closet door, and looked at him. “How about you?”

“Still no plans since you asked yesterday,” he said.

“You’re invited to dinner. Can’t promise how good of a cook I am, but you’re always welcome to suffer.”

Leonard hadn’t intended to be one of those people who was friendly with his neighbors. He’d seen Lance on occasion, but other than running into her to get his mail, he’d never interacted with her.

Then Leonard had seen her break a man’s arm out in the alley behind their apartment complex. So he said hi, and they’d started chatting when they’d get their mail. She often left her door open to the hall and captured him in conversation as he walked home from work. He would even say he was friends with the sarcastic and belligerent blonde, even if most of their interactions happened over the threshold of her door.

“I’m not interested in stepping on your family time,” he sidestepped.

“You wouldn’t be stepping on anything, Snart.”

“I appreciate that.”

She took that as the gentle ‘no,’ it was meant to be and nodded. “Suit yourself. I’m gonna Christmas the shit out of this place.”

He chuckled. “Enjoy.”

"Want to come in and have a beer? You can watch the beginning of the chaos."

"Maybe another time," he said, taking a step back.

"Door’s always open."

With that familiar goodbye, Leonard crossed the hall to his room, smiling as he heard Sara swear again behind him.

* * *

**Dec. 15**

“Rough day?”

Leonard looked up as he climbed the last flight to his apartment. Sara was sitting at the top of the stairs, an overly full glass of wine in her hand and Christmas music pouring out of her place. He could see that her place was bursting with decorations, though the tree was still bare, and she hadn’t put up any lights yet. Leonard got level with her, leaning on the railing.

“Long day,” he corrected tiredly.

“Sorry,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.

He shrugged it off. “Why are you out here?”

“I may have tried my hand at baking.”

He was now getting a hint of burnt sugar in the air. “And how’d that go?”

“I’m waiting for my place to air out before I try again.”

Leonard laughed, the long day not feeling quite as overwhelming now. “All decorated?”

“Just about,” she said. “I’m taking the rest of the night off.”

“Big plans?”

"I'm getting wine-drunk, then I’m going to watch the worst Christmas rom-coms I can find. Wanna join?" She waved the precariously full glass of wine at him.

“So very tempting,” he said. “But I’ve still got a lot of work to do.” He patted his bag and started up the stairs.

“All work and no play, Mr. Snart,” Sara warned him from her spot on the ground. “My door’s always open, if you start feeling a little...mad.”

The grin on her face was entirely wicked and he did find himself tempted.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he promised, heading to his room.

“See that you do.”

Just before he shut his door behind him, Leonard glanced back to see Sara watching him, sipping her wine, her brow arched.

Very tempted.

* * *

**Dec. 21**

Leonard opened his door to a frantic knocking. Sara was outside of it, the door to her apartment still wide open, and a plate of cookies in her hand.

“These are definitely edible,” she said, lifting her cookies.

“Hardly a rave review, Lance,” he said, but he still took his life into his hands and grabbed a cookie. It crunched a little too much, but it tasted good enough.

“Not bad,” he said.

The grin that lit up her face was worth the crunchiness. “Yes, finally!” She pushed the plate into his hands. “You can keep these. I’ve got another eight batches.”

“Eight?” he echoed, putting the plate on his counter. Sara stayed at the doorway, not leaning against it.

“Yeah. I just want everything to be perfect. She’s never come out here, and I just need it all to be...”

He crossed his arms, resting his shoulder against the frame. “Hey, it’s gonna be great.”

“I hope so,” she said, her smile shaking slightly.

Leonard leaned a little closer, drawing her eye up. “It’ll be great, Lance,” he assured her. “It’s your mom and it’s Christmas.”

“Thanks, Len,” she said. “Well, I definitely made too many cookies, and the last few batches definitely have alcohol in them. Want to taste test some? Or at least drink the leftovers?”

He straightened up away from the door. "Not tonight."

"Doors always open," she reminded him, heading back to said door.

Leonard watched her go back into her room, leaving the door wide open for him. Somehow, it seemed to be even more decorated than before, a few Christmas lights on the tree and a huge knot of more lights on the ground.

Reluctantly, Leonard shut his door.

The cookies were delicious.

* * *

**Dec. 23**

Leonard got off work early, looking forward to a quiet afternoon at home, before heading out for drinks with Mick and Lisa. Heading up to his room, his eyes automatically tracked towards Sara’s door, half expecting her to be in full elf-regalia.

He was not expecting to hear the shatter of glass.

Jumping up the last few stairs, he stopped just outside her door, the question on his lips before it faded into silence.

Her apartment was...clean. No tree. No decorations. No lights. Nothing at all, but Sara standing in her kitchen, bags of cookies in a box full of canned goods, potatoes, what looked like an entire ham, and a broken wine glass on the floor.

“Lance?”

She looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed. “What?”

“Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

He took a half step towards her, his boots just passing the threshold of her door. It wasn’t hard to piece together what happened.

“I’m sorry.”

She laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “It’s really not all that surprising. She’s never been...I shouldn’t have gotten so...whatever. I hate the holidays anyway. Least the soup kitchen can use all this shit.”

Coming towards him, she opened the closet closest to the door and pulled out a broom and dustpan. She stared at the broom, shaking her head faintly. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter.”

“Obviously,” she scoffed.

“Sara -”

Sara looked up at him, her eyes going a little glassy. “Goodnight, Len.”

As Leonard stared, struggling to find something to make it better, she closed the door on him, for the first time since he'd known her.

* * *

**Dec. 24**

Sara climbed the steps to her room, pulling her scarf off of her neck in the heated interior of the complex. The soup kitchen was always rewarding, but physically exhausting, and she was looking forward to cracking open the bottle of scotch she’d bought for her mom and drinking a majority of it by herself. Maybe she’d throw on some sort of action movie.

When she reached the landing, she was mildly surprised to see that Len’s door was ajar. Not entirely open, but more inviting than it had ever been before. Any other night, she might have gone to see if that invitation was meant for her, but not tonight.

Fishing her keys out of her pocket, Sara unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in -

Her scarf fell to the ground.

White twinkle lights hung from every inch of her apartment. The tree was back up in the corner, tastefully done up with silver and gold ornaments and more white lights. Most of the decorations she’d put away yesterday were back where they had been, but somehow looked even better than before. The lights draped from her ceiling and circled her window, and covered everything in her apartment with a soft, snowy light. She stepped in a little more, the lights surrounding her.

It was magical.

She stared at them, very different tears filling her eyes than she’d been shedding the past two days. Eventually, she turned towards the door, where she wasn’t at all surprised to see Leonard standing just outside her door.

“You did this?” she asked quietly.

He shrugged one shoulder, almost looking nervous. “I know you were disappointed.”

“Most neighbors would’ve just bought wine or something,” she said, trying to wipe away the tears that had spilled. “Thanks,” she added quietly.

“Merry Christmas, Lance.”

“Merry Christmas, Snart.”

He nodded, a little smile on his face, then turned to go.

Sara stared after him, then darted to her door before he reached his apartment.

“How'd you get inside?” she called after him.

He stopped. Turned. “Thought you said your door was always open.”

“That's figurative. It was definitely locked.” She smiled at him, arching a brow.

“I may have some tricks up my sleeve from a more...mischievous youth.”

She wasn’t sure why she was such a glutton for punishment, but she went for it anyway. “Wanna come in and have some scotch while you tell me more about that?”

He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes darting between hers. He took a deep breath and Sara prepared herself for another gentle rejection -

“Sure.”

She blinked and grinned, opening the door wider. Leonard shut his door, crossed the hall, and stepped into her apartment, smiling down at her as he walked in.

Sara shut the door behind them.


	15. Won't Be Home for Christmas - Follow You Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: Won't Be Home for Christmas - Follow You Down

“...could restore that part of Tevat Noah to serve as the electrical component -”

“Palmer.”

“- old generators still work so we don’t have to worry about power -”

“Palmer.”

“- have to be sure it’s completely safe, you know?”

_ “Palmer.” _

Ray stopped, blinking as if Leonard hadn’t been trying to get his attention for the past five minutes. “Yeah?”

“It’s already after five. If you want to get back Above before it’s dark, we need to move.”

“Oh,” Ray said, sounding completely surprised. “Right, yes, of course.”

Leonard grabbed his backpack from the ground where they’d been surveying this sector of Tevat Noah, and gestured for Mick, who’d been rummaging through some of the surrounding buildings to join them. Ray packed up his equipment, and Leonard took another bag from the inventor, while Mick took a couple, and the three of them started the long hike back Above.

Tevat Noah had been officially empty for six months, and Palmer was heading the efforts to make it a functional and useful part of society again. The technology was impressive, but too much of it had failsafes and explosives built into it, and the three of them were working to survey and make sure that it was as safe as it could be. They were supposed to have been done almost a week ago and Leonard was especially irritated about having to be away from Central City for so long, not that he could say anything. First off, he was one of the few who knew the darker parts of Tevat Noah. Sure, Rip had the casino well controlled and understood, and Palmer had the abandoned areas, but Leonard and Mick had the run of the rest of it. The two of them knew every tunnel in Tevat Noah by heart, and it was obviously necessary for them to be a part of the survey. Secondly, he knew that if he so much as hinted at a complaint, Mick and Ray would start in on him and he just wasn’t -

“So, how’s Blondie?” Mick asked as if reading Leonard’s thoughts.

Leonard cut his eyes at his best friend, the man well aware that Leonard would rather be in Central City with her rather than here with them. “Fine.”

“Still finding missing people?” Ray asked, genuinely interested.

“Yeah. She and Sin have put together a group that’s been helping reunite people.”

Sin had been ever-present, too. Luckily, she seemed to not actively dislike Leonard, which was good. She’d been getting lessons from Sara and he wasn’t keen on being a test dummy. He’d introduced her to his sister, which he wasn’t certain had been a great idea, but the three girls got on like a house on fire, with some of the same results.

“I’m surprised she didn’t come with you,” Ray said, again with the incredibly open face that Leonard felt bad about condescending to. Didn’t stop him, necessarily, but he felt bad.

“She would have, but she was in the middle of a case. A couple of kids.”

And he should have been there, helping her, rather than be here, digging through the remains of his drug operation to make sure nothing would be out there to hurt more people. The sight of his shop used to be a moment of pride. Now, he just felt sick every time he was reminded of what he’d contributed to Darhk’s hellish dystopia. That was the only reason he was here at all; this was some small chance to atone.

The conversation seemed to end as they continued Above and Leonard was grateful. Bad enough that he’d been here for a month already, but with the way they were going, they were looking at another two weeks at least. Though he was grateful to see Mick again, he missed his apartment with Sara and Sin. The little dysfunctional family he’d fallen into, where Quentin seemed relieved that he was there, rather than suspicious. Their discussions over Sin’s future and Lisa’s life, and how he could help, and Quentin asking for advice, and making Sara smile…

He’d never really had a home to miss before, so he missed this one all the more.

They reached what used to be the Doors of Tevat Noah, long since broken down and opened permanently, though guarded to keep any wanderers from being lost in the tunnels below. The man at the crumbling Doors straightened when he saw them approaching, his long duster apparently enough to keep him warm from the chilly wind outside. Leonard would never like Rip Hunter, but he could tolerate him now. Barely.

“Mr. Palmer, Mr. Rory.” Rip glanced at him. “Mr. Snart,” his voice a little colder.

Didn’t help that Rip may have had a small thing for Sara, and vice versa. Until Leonard.

“Hunter,” Leonard said icily in return.

A woman approached them and Leonard’s greeting to her was warmer. Gideon was much smarter than Rip and far more tolerable.

“How is it going?” she asked, crossing her arms as the wind picked up.

“Good!” Ray said, grinning. “We’re almost down in sector twelve and moving on to thirteen tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Gideon said. “But aren’t you coming over?”

“Why?” Mick asked.

Rip blinked. “It’s Christmas. You were going to come over for an early dinner.”

Christmas? Leonard tried to fix the math in his head, but he realized they were right. He rubbed his eyes, another layer of guilt sinking into his stomach. First Christmas with Sara and first birthday, and he was missing it. Instead of being home with her, he was doomed to spend the evening with Rip and Ray. Wonderful.

“Oh,” Ray said, sounding surprised. “I forgot! We get to sleep in tomorrow, guys!” He turned to Mick and Leonard with a grin, that neither of them returned.

Leonard dropped Ray’s backpack on the ground. “I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight, Leonard!” Ray said, unfazed.

“See you tomorrow, boss,” Mick grumbled.

Rip didn’t say anything, but Gideon said, “Happy Christmas, Mr. Snart.”

“Night,” Leonard managed. Hitching his bag over his shoulder, he started down the street to his temporary apartment.

Lights dotted the streets, the cleanup efforts making significant headway with the help of Central and National City now. More work needed to be done, but there were several apartment buildings up, a sort of police force, and a group of leaders for Star City, including Ray. Luckily, working for the man in charge meant that Leonard didn’t have to stay in the city-provided apartments, but in a private residence with a gate and everything.

Grateful for the restored electricity Above, Leonard took the elevator to the fourth floor, his knee aching a bit from the climb back up and all the walking he’d been doing over the past month.  The elevator dinged on his floor and he stepped out, half-dozing already. Arriving at his door, however, and seeing that it was ajar, woke him up sufficiently.

Silently, he grabbed the cold gun he had yet to leave home without, not charging it up just yet. Wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to rob him, and most ran at the sight of the gun. Still, he kept his finger on the safety just in case.

It would be smarter to go in quietly, but he was in a foul mood and a would-be robber was the perfect outlet.

Leonard pushed the door open, lifting his gun as he let the affected, drug-dealing voice of Captain Cold take over. "Trust me when I say, you really chose the wrong apartment tonight."

Drawing up short at low glow from inside, Leonard blinked, adjusting his eyes. It looked like...candles were set up around the studio apartment, the light dim enough to still see the stars out of his window, but bright enough to reveal the figure standing in the center.

"No, I've got the right one."

Leonard lowered the gun immediately, his voice disbelieving despite seeing the evidence in front of him. “Sara?”

“Hey,” she said, smiling. She was wearing his jacket - the one he’d given her so many months ago - and her old scuffed up boots with the knives at the top and she looked like home to him.

“How did you…?” He had the presence of mind to shut the door behind him - just because she wasn't a robber didn't mean there weren't any around.

“You’re not the only one who’s friends with Barry,” she said, her eyes dancing as he visibly grimaced at the memory of his journey with Barry Allen - the Flash. Despite being necessary at the time, it wasn’t a journey he’d ever want to repeat.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, dropping the gun and bag on the couch as he stepped nearer.

“It’s Christmas. I wanted to bring you your present.”

He couldn't care less about a present as he got close enough to wrap his arms around her, feeling hers go tightly around him as they held one another just a little too close. Something that had been missing for the last month slid into place as Sara fit into his arms.

“I missed you," she murmured into his jacket.

He smiled against her hair, remembering how he’d come back to her with that same sentiment. "I missed you, too." He pulled back, just far enough to see her face. "What about the case?"

"Found and closed," she said, relief and happiness obvious. Too many hadn't ended as well. "I'm taking a vacation for a couple weeks."

"Vacation?" he repeated, suspicious.

"Yeah," she said, her smile unrepentant. "Some surveying and research. Out of the sun."

"Was Palmer in on this?"

"No. But Gideon was."

“She’s definitely too good for Hunter.”

Sara laughed and Leonard couldn't help his smile. "I believe you said something about a present?"

She grinned mischievously, her eyes darting above him.

Not entirely trusting her, Leonard glanced up to see a sprig of mistletoe above them. He looked back down at her. "Like I need the encouragement."

Her hand still on his chest, Leonard watched as her cheeks turned a little pink. "Also, I wanted to...you saved my life Below, and you've been so great to me and Sin, and I should've told you a long time ago, but it never seemed quite right, but then you were gone for so long and I realized -"

"Sara."

"I love you."

His breath punched out of him. Though he knew she cared - she’d battled Collectors and casino workers and risked fighting Savage again for him, of course she cared - she’d never said it. She showed it, when she curled against him at night and when she took his hand as they walked or how she only allowed him to see her cry when cases went bad, so he knew. He knew, but she’d never said it before. Of course, neither had he.

Her fingers curled into his coat, and she tilted her head up towards him. “I love you,” she repeated, a little quieter the second time, no trace of worry or embarrassment as he tried to recover in silence.

He took advantage of the mistletoe above them, kissing her as thoroughly as he had when he’d shown up in her apartment after foolishly letting her go. She stole his breath a second time, the jacket that had once been his pressing against his chest, one hand resting over the scar on his side from Savage. She had scars from him, too, just not as visible.

Sara smiled as he broke away, her eyes still closed. Leonard stared down at her, feeling more at home here for the first time in a month, all because of her.

“I love you, Sara.”

Her eyes opened up, the blue dancing. “I know.” She said it with the same conviction as she said that she trusted him among the beaten bodies of Casino workers, both of them battered and bruised, but still standing and holding on to each other.

His grin was unintentional. “Good.”

“Still nice to hear it, though,” she said, hugging him again.

“Yeah,” he agreed, holding her. "Well, at least we'll both suffer Christmas dinner with Hunter and Palmer tomorrow,” he said after a moment.

Sara grimaced, but it was mostly an act. “I came out here to spend time with you.”

“I was told I could sleep in.”

“That’ll have to do.” She shifted so she was tucked under one of his arms, heading to the small bed in the corner.

“Thanks for coming,” he said quietly, all the exhaustion he’d felt earlier vanishing with her arrival. “I figured you’d want to be home for Christmas.”

She smiled up at him. “Didn’t feel like home without you.”

He felt the uncharacteristic urge to say something heartfelt, but he’d already exceeded his daily outpourings of actual feeling. He let go of her for a moment, going back to snag the mistletoe off the center of his ceiling.

“Just in case,” he said.


	16. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16: Gifts (Hot Chocolate fixit)  
> Since you all hated that one so much, here's a fixit. :)

It was supposed to be a party.

Ava was still wearing the red cocktail dress from Team Flash’s holiday party, her silver heels, and the shocked expression she’d been wearing for the past hour.

They had just finished up their party, with a bunch of guests from alternate Earths, including Leo and his husband Ray, Supergirl, and a few versions of Harrison Wells that Ava couldn’t keep straight. The former and current Legends were present, along with Gary and Nora. Most of Team Arrow had come, though not the Arrow himself. Ava was disappointed, he was one of the ones Ava actually liked.

Cisco, as Vibe, was ferrying everyone home. Sara was helping Iris and Caitlin clean up, laughing with them. Ava was helping Felicity take down some of the decorations, her height an advantage over the techie’s.

Cisco hugged Leo and gave Ray a handshake. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Anytime,” Leo promised. Cisco opened their portal and the two of them stepped through.

“Oh, jeez,” Felicity said, half the garland falling, “can you grab that half?”

Ava did so, but it fell anyway when she heard an exclamation from behind her.

Coming out of the portal was - Leo? He landed hard on one knee, his shoulders quaking like he was in pain. He got to his feet amidst the silence, looking around at all of them, sweat obvious on his face and his hands shaking.

“Everything okay, Leo?” Barry asked, frowning.

Ava frowned as she noticed that Leo had already changed out of his suit and back into a dark jacket she’d never seen him in before. And he looked...off, somehow.

“Don’t recall giving you permission to use that nickname, Allen,” Leo said, his voice sounding colder and more deliberate.

Barry’s frown faded into something like shock, and Rory lowered his drink and got to his feet. Ray dropped the glass he was holding and it shattered in the ground. Sara’s head snapped up and she dropped the paper plates she’d been holding onto the nearest table, her eyes wide as she stared at Leo. 

“Forget something?” Cisco asked, the portal closing up with his inattention.

“I did.”

Leo strode across the room, his eyes only on Sara, somehow still appearing confident even as his hands continued to shake. It hit Ava a half-second before that this wasn’t Leo.

But it wasn’t long enough for her to say or do anything as he got in front of Sara, took her face in his hands, and  _ kissed  _ her.

Ava would never know if Sara was going to respond in kind, because the man ended the kiss only moments after, not nearly long enough for any of them to get over their shock, including, apparently, Sara.

He didn’t let go of her, though, and Sara stared up at him, not trying to get free.

“Len?” she whispered.

“Sorry I’m late, assassin. Time travel’s a bitch.” His smirk was ruined by what appeared to be a seizure wracking through him. Sara caught his head as he fell, lowering him to the ground and keeping him from hurting himself.

“Cait?!”

Dr. Snow ran over and, with Rory’s help, the three of them got the man to the medical portion of the cortex, the glass doors shutting behind them.

And there they’d been for the past hour.

Ava could see Sara, sitting next to the man, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she stared at him. Rory was standing next to her, his face uncharacteristically serious as he kept one hand on Sara’s shoulder. Dr. Snow was flitting back and forth between the man and the machines he was connected to.

The rest of them just...waited.

Ava saw Barry and Ray Palmer whispering between themselves, but didn’t want to intrude just yet. So she grabbed John as he was walking to the punch bowl that had been left out in the wake of the arrival.

“Who is that guy?” she asked.

John looked at her, his eyes half-bleary. “Apparently the original Leonard Snart. From this Earth and the first Legends team.”

“Rory’s partner? The criminal?”

“That’d be him. Captain Cold.”

“And him and Sara were...what?”

“Dunno, love. Thought he got himself blown up, but,” John shrugged. “What else is new here, eh?”

He continued to the punch bowl and Ava let him go, unhindered. Barry separated from Ray and she crossed the room to catch the Flash before he left the Cortex.

“Hey, so what’s with Leonard Snart knowing your name? I thought he was a criminal,” she asked.

Barry’s smile faltered somewhat as he looked up at her. “Snart was...is complicated. He was a criminal, but he ended up saving my life. He saved a lot of people.”

“All of the Legends saved people,” Ava said.

“No, I mean, before. He helped me with the Trickster, and his dad was…” Barry trailed off, looking back at the glass walls. “I knew he had it in him to be a hero. He died for the Legends’ mission, to save the world.” His smile was half-sad.

“Barry?” Iris called.

“Excuse me,” Barry said, walking away from her.

Ava crossed her arms, staring after him as she chewed her lip. A good portion of her didn’t want to, but she went across the room to Ray, who stood with his arm around Nora. They looked up when they saw her.

“Crazy night, huh?” Ava asked.

Nora smiled and nodded, but Ray looked over to the room.

“You knew him, right?” Ava asked. “Snart?”

“Yeah,” Ray said quietly. “I knew him.”

Ava waited, but Ray didn’t keep talking. Nora looked up at him with a frown, and eventually he seemed to shake himself out of his funk and looked back at them, an unconvincing smile on his face.

“Everything okay?” Ava asked. “Should we be worried about him?”

“No,” Ray said immediately. “No, Snart was - is a friend. He and Mick saved my life when I got captured by Russians. I went on my first theft with him,” he said, with a grin. “He protected us from space pirates and got Cassie to talk to us about Savage and then, at the Oculus…”

“And him and Sara?”

Nora looked at her, something defensive rising to her face on Ava’s behalf, which Ava appreciated. Ray’s expression was very different.

“They were close. He and Sara were...they worked together a lot. He talked her down off of some dark places, and she made him be a better teammate.”

Ava nodded, ready to turn away.

“She was there, at the end,” he said quietly. “She was the one who got me and Mick out of there. She had to leave him to save us.”

Not knowing what to make of that, Ava couldn’t respond, especially as Ray’s eyes started to fill.

“It was supposed to be me.”

“Ray,” Nora murmured.

“I made the bomb, but I didn’t make it stick, I couldn’t figure out the fail-safe, so I was going to stay. It was my mistake, and half the world still thought I was dead anyway,” he said, a tear spilling over. “It was supposed to be me. Next thing I know, I’m unconscious. I come to, and Snart’s dead. Because of me.”

He wiped his eyes, with a wet laugh. “And he would have been so angry about it, going out as a hero. He always said he wasn’t one.”

Nora rubbed his arm as Ray composed himself. Ava waited for a moment until Ray drew in a breath that shook. “We thought he was dead, and he’s been out there this whole time. We didn’t look for him. We thought...he died for us and he’s been out there this whole time, and it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t be stupid, Haircut.”

Ava had been so engrossed with Ray’s admission that she didn’t notice the doors had opened and Rory had come out, coming up behind Ray.

“Snart always has a plan and you dying wasn’t part of it,” Rory said gruffly. “Don’t feel guilty for not seein’ through his plans. No one ever did.”

Rory looked at Ava for a long moment, then started out of the room. Taking the cue, Ava followed him. It was quiet in the hallways, the still-playing Christmas music fading as they got further from the Cortex. Rory stopped at an empty section of the hallway, then turned to face Ava.

“Don’t make Blondie leave til we know if he’s gonna live. Snow says that if he makes it the next few hours, he’ll live. Just...she needs to know.”

“Why? What were they?”

Rory frowned, but for once, it didn’t seem to be aimed at her. “I don’t know what to call them. They were...somethin’. They got each other. Kept each other from gettin’ too dark, while being able to be honest about everythin’. They were friends. Partners.”

The way he said it made it sound like there was another word he wanted to add, and Ava waited.

“Haircut thinks Snart died for him. He did it for himself, to prove that he was more than what other people said ‘cause of his life so far. But Blondie was the one to get him to believe that he could change his fate or whatever.”

She almost wished she hadn’t asked.

“Snart was...better with her,” Rory rumbled, uncomfortable. “Never saw him make hot chocolate for anyone else ‘cept Lisa, but he’d make it for Blondie on her bad nights.”

“What?”

“When she couldn’t sleep, nightmares or whatever, she’d got to the kitchen. I slept next room over, and would hear the two of them talkin’ about it. He made her hot chocolate every time. Sometimes he’d be up and in there for a while before her. Sometimes, just a couple minutes. I think he had Gideon helping him out.”

Ava swallowed and nodded, crossing her arms tightly in front of her. Done, Rory turned away to head back to the room.

“Rory?”

He paused and gave her a grunt, which she took as a cue to continue.

“What would Rebecca Silver call them?”

He didn’t turn entirely, just enough so that she could see his profile. He didn’t seem to have to think about it. He just spoke, somewhat gentler than before.

“She’d call ‘em soulmates.”

* * *

“Can I get you some coffee?”

Sara blinked and looked up at Caitlin. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m just going to change. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Mick and Cisco are outside in case you need something.”

Sara nodded. “Thank you.”

Caitlin left, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Sara returned to staring at Len’s face. How did he look exactly the same? Not a single line on his face was different. He looked just like he did when he told her to leave him behind, when she’d left him to die -

She drew in a shuddering breath, putting her fingers to her lips, which hadn’t stopped tingling since he’d kissed her. That wasn’t the kind of kiss you gave to someone you hated, right? He didn’t hate her?

Reaching out tentatively, Sara touched his hand, curling her fingers around his. He didn't move or shift. She held on tightly, not going to let go until -

The door opened up again and Sara looked up, seeing Ava in the door. She knew she should pull her hand away, that she was in a committed relationship, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t let go again.

“Hey,” Ava whispered, shutting the door behind her. Her eyes darted to where Sara was holding onto Len, but she just looked back up at Sara. “I’m going to leave.”

“I...I’ll come with,” Sara suggested, half-heartedly, but still forced herself to get to her feet, even if she couldn’t let go of his hand just yet.

“No, Sara,” Ava said, her voice a little thick. “I’m leaving.”

Sara’s eyes darted between hers, realizing what was happening. “Ava, I didn’t know that he was…” She meant to say something like ‘going to kiss me,’ but she’d been the one to challenge him, hadn’t she? And she knew that Leonard Snart loved a challenge.

“Alive?” Ava suggested instead.

She looked back down at him. If she’d known he was alive, even if he’d still been missing these four years, would she have ever begun anything with Ava? Would she have dated someone else, knowing Len was out there somewhere? The answer was obvious, but she didn’t say it out loud. She didn’t have to.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said.

“Don’t be,” Ava whispered. “I know that this was real while it lasted.”

“It was.”

Ava sniffed, her eyes glassy. “But I also know better than to stand in the way of something like this.” She gestured to the two of them.

“I loved you,” Sara told her.

“And I love you. So I’m going to go.” She managed one more smile, then headed to the door.

“Thank you,” Sara whispered after her.

Ava pushed open the door, looking back. “I hope your crook pulls through.”

Mick came in as Ava left, the door closing once again. He watched Ava go, then looked back at Sara.

“You good?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

* * *

Mick was snoring in the Cortex, the door open and the clock ticking steadily past three o’clock in the morning on Christmas Day. Sara hadn’t moved, except to sit back down at some point, both of her hands wrapping around Leonard’s one. She closed her eyes for a moment, the ache of exhaustion burning her eyes a little, but she couldn’t sleep. Not yet. Not until…

A faint groan from the bed had Sara’s eyes opening as Leonard shifted on the bed, his brow furrowing as his eyes blinked a few times before focusing on her.

“What’d you think?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“What?”

“Still a hell of a thief?” He gave her a cocky little smile and Sara laughed, letting go of his hands to stead up and hold his face between her fingers. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

Sara bent down and kissed him slowly, sweetly, with neither one of them dying or fainting at the end of it.

“Yes,” she whispered, pulling away.

“How long was I gone?”

“Four years,” she answered, leaning on the side of his bed, one hand still on his face as he held onto her. “You?”

His smile flickered a little. “Longer.”

“Tell me over hot chocolate?”

“Only if I make it,” he answered with another groan, sitting up. “You always forget the marshmallows.”

Their hands migrated to his lap and Sara turned towards the Cortex, though she didn’t look away from him.

“Mick!” she shouted.

It was just the matter of a few seconds before Mick came in, grinning to see Leonard sitting up. He stared at him for a long time, then cleared his throat.

“Hell of an entrance, Snart.”

“Had to top my exit,” Leonard said, smiling at him.

Mick let out a little chuckle, running his hand over his head. “Merry Christmas, huh?”

“It’s Christmas?” Leonard asked, looking back at Sara.

She nodded and he squeezed her fingers a little.

“I didn’t get you anything,” he admitted, his eyes dancing.

“I think you’re forgiven this year.”

Leonard grinned, leaning forward to kiss her again, while Mick rolled his eyes in the corner and walked out, saying something about waking up Caitlin.

“Merry Christmas, Lance.” 


	17. Delayed Flight - WVRDR Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17: Delayed Flight - WVRDR Texts
> 
> I know I say it for a lot of them, but I love this one. Formatting aside, the texts are always fun.

_ [Internal Message Server WVRDR Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

**WhtCanary has entered the chat**

WhtCanary [1116]: hey crook

WhtCanary [1117]: cant wait til you get home

CaptCold [1118]: Bad news, birdy.

WhtCanary [1118]: are you ok?

CaptCold [1120]: I’m fine. But the storm got worse.

CaptCold [1121]: I won’t be able to fly out tonight.

WhtCanary [1123]: oh ok

WhtCanary [1123]: as long as youre ok

CaptCold [1124]: It’s not okay. It’s Christmas Eve.

WhtCanary [1125]: i know. but mick’s got the waverider and he’s busy.

CaptCold [1125]: I’m sorry.

WhtCanary [1127]: it’s not your fault

WhtCanary [1128]: it’s not a big deal  ~~ i hate my birthday anyway ~~

WhtCanary [1128]:  ~~ i miss you though ~~ its fine.

WhtCanary [1128]: really. im busy at star labs most of the day anyway

WhtCanary [1129]: we can just do something when you get home  ~~ all i want is you anyway ~~

CaptCold [1130]: I love you.

WhtCanary [1130]: i love you too

WhtCanary [1131]: just get home when you can

WhtCanary [1131]: be safe

CaptCold [1132]: I will.

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server SUPERFRIENDS Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

**FastestManAlive has entered the chat**

FastestManAlive [1248]: What’s up? Thought you were on your way home from jolly ol England?

CaptCold [1249]: I was in Ireland. And I should have been, had it not been for the storm.

FastestManAlive [1249]: Oh, that explains why Sara’s been so down.

CaptCold [1250]:  ~~ She’s been down? ~~ ~~ Is she okay ~~ ~~ I didn’t mean to make her ~~ Yeah.

FastestManAlive [1251]: So what’s up?

CaptCold [1253]: I need a favor.

FastestManAlive [1253]: -image-

CaptCold [1254]: What have I told you about using gifs with me?

FastestManAlive [1255]: That you’d freeze me.  ~~ That was a joke right? ~~

CaptCold [1255]: That wasn’t a joke.

FastestManAlive [1256]: Why should I do a favor for you now?

CaptCold [1257]: It’s for Sara. Not me.  ~~ And we both know you’d do it anyway, since you had that crush on me for ~~

FastestManAlive [1257]: Fine. What?

CaptCold [1259]: There're flowers being delivered to the house at four. Be there to receive them. There’s also a bottle of incredibly expensive alcohol in the linen closet on the second floor of our house, with a card and bracelet. Put all of it on the kitchen table so she’ll see it when she gets home.  ~~ It won’t make me feel much better for missing the holiday, but at least it’ll make her ~~

FastestManAlive [1259]: Uh, are you forgetting that you never gave me a key?

CaptCold [1300]: I didn’t forget. That was intentional. There’s a spare key hidden in the third paver on the left hand side from the door.

FastestManAlive [1301]: You trust me with your key?

CaptCold [1301]: [unsent]  ~~ Loathe as I am to admit it, I do trust ~~

FastestManAlive [1301]: -image-

CaptCold [1302]: What did I say?

FastestManAlive [1303]: [unsent]  ~~ I’m not afraid of you. ~~

CaptCold [1303]: I’ll be moving the key when I get home.

FastestManAlive [1304]: Fine. I see how it is.

CaptCold [1305]: Make sure to be out of there by 6:30. That should be more than enough time.  ~~ Even for you. ~~

FastestManAlive [1306]:  ~~ I’m sorry you won’t be home for ~~ I’m only doing this for Sara. 

CaptCold [1306]: Noted.

CaptCold [1310]: And thank you, Allen.

FastestManAlive [1311]: Anytime, Snart. Merry Christmas.

CaptCold [1312]: Merry Christmas.

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server SUPERFRIENDS Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ FastestManAlive has created [Group Chat] _

**Atomic1 has entered the chat**

**ZSnap has entered the chat**

**MetalMan has entered the chat**

**GoodVibesOnly has entered the chat**

FastestManAlive [1641]: Hey! Who wants to do a good deed today?

ZSnap [1641]: No.

MetalMan [1642]: What kind of deed?

Atomic1 [1642]: Absolutely! :D

GoodVibesOnly [1643]: define “good”

FastestManAlive [1644]: Snart is stuck in  ~~England~~ Ireland and won’t be home tonight. He asked me to go to his house and put out some presents for Sara, but there’s all these decorations they haven’t put up, so I thought we could decorate for them!

ZSnap [1645]: That’s a terrible idea. Do what he says and leave. Snart and Sara like their privacy  ~~ and I’ve heard enough to last a lifetime, trust me you don’t want to overhear ~~

FastestManAlive [1645]: But it’ll be so nice!

MetalMan [1646]: i’m down

Atomic1 [1646]: Me too!!! :D

GoodVibesOnly [1647]: Sorry, I’ve got plans.

Atomic1 [1648]: oooooh, plans cisco? ;)

GoodVibesOnly [1648]: Are you 12?

GoodVibesOnly [1649]: Later.

**GoodVibesOnly has left the chat**

ZSnap [1650]: I’ll say it again. This is a [expletive deleted] terrible idea.

**ZSnap has left the chat**

FastestManAlive [1651]: That’s fine, guys night out to decorate!

MetalMan [1652]: sure why not?

Atomic1 [1652]: that’s the spirit!!  \o/

FastestManAlive  [1653]: [ open attached file ]

FastestManAlive  [1653]: That’s the address! Hurry on over!

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server SUPERFRIENDS Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

CaptCold [1705]: You done, Allen?

CaptCold [1706]: It shouldn’t have been that hard to find.

CaptCold [1710]: Allen. Tell me you’re not still in my house.

CaptCold [1712]: [unsent]  ~~ How the hell have you managed to save the city when you can’t follow simple directions? ~~

CaptCold [1712]: [unsent]  ~~ I’m ashamed to have been caught by you ~~

CaptCold [1713]: Get out of my house.

CaptCold [1715]: [unsent]  ~~ [expletive deleted] ~~

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server WVRDR Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ ZSnap has created [Private Chat] _

**Atomic1 has entered the chat**

Atomic1 [1732]: what’s up z?

Atomic1 [1733]: got a case of the fomos?? :]

ZSnap [1734]: Don’t you have a private jet that can fly in extreme weather?

Atomic1 [1735]: i mean...yeah

ZSnap [1736]: So what the fuck, man?

Atomic1 [1736]: [unsent]  ~~ i didn’t think of it ~~

Atomic1 [1737]: i’ll make a call

**Atomic1 has left the chat**

ZSnap [1738]: [unsent]  ~~ It’s exhausting being the only adult. ~~

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server SUPERFRIENDS Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ DocFrost has created [Private Chat] _

**SmartestManInTheRoom has entered the chat**

SmartestManInTheRoom [1741]: Yes, Snow?

DocFrost [1742]: Sara left early, if you wanted to join me in the Cortex.

SmartestManInTheRoom [1742]: I’m in the middle of something currently.  ~~ Though that’s tempting. ~~

SmartestManInTheRoom [1744]: Isn’t Ramon here?

DocFrost [1745]: Cisco is on his date with Gypsy. Just us here now.

DocFrost [1745]: [unsent]  ~~ Take the hint. ~~

SmartestManInTheRoom [1746]: Well...

SmartestManInTheRoom [1746]: [unsent]  ~~I’ve got this project here that I~~

DocFrost [1746]: You can unwrap one of your presents.

SmartestManInTheRoom [1747]: I left all of your gifts at home.

DocFrost [1748]: So did I.

SmartestManInTheRoom [1750]: On my way.

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server WVRDR Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

**WhtCanary has entered the chat**

CaptCold [1755]: How’s it going, assassin?

WhtCanary [1756]: fine

WhtCanary [1756]: left the lab a little early. almost home

WhtCanary [1757]: how are you?

CaptCold [1758]: Missing you.

WhtCanary [1758]: i miss you too

WhtCanary [1759]: i had all these plans for tonight too

CaptCold [1759]: Do tell.

WhtCanary [1800]: sure you wanna hear when you’re all the way in ireland?

CaptCold [1801]: I’ll manage.

WhtCanary [1801]: well i found your old parka and i thought i’d wear it for you

CaptCold [1802]: [unsent]  ~~ Shit, maybe I can't manage ~~

WhtCanary [1802]: [unsent]  ~~ and then we could ~~

WhtCanary [1802]: shit i gotta go

CaptCold [1803]: What’s wrong?

WhtCanary [1803]: i think someone’s in our house

WhtCanary [1803]: i’ll take care of it

CaptCold [1804]: [unsent]  ~~ Wait it’s ~~

**WhtCanary has left the chat**

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server SUPERFRIENDS Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

CaptCold [1804]: Get out of my house, right now.

**FastestManAlive has entered the chat**

FastestManAlive [1804]: I’m trying to do a nice thing.

CaptCold [1805]: Sara is home and thinks there’s an intruder. Get out.

FastestManAlive [1806]: Dude, I’m the FLASH.

FastestManAlive [1806]: I can justttjh48q2pv 092mi 

CaptCold [1807]: Allen.

CaptCold [1810]: Allen.

CaptCold [1815]: She caught you, didn’t she?

FastestManAlive [1817]: Yup. Yes she did.

CaptCold [1818]: And you can still type? She went easy on you.

FastestManAlive [1819]: That is a horrifying thought.

FastestManAlive [1819]: She says hi.

CaptCold [1820]: It was a simple job, Allen.

CaptCold [1821]: This is why I don’t trust you.

FastestManAlive [1822]: I see now where you’re coming from.

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server WVRDR Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

**Atomic1 has entered the chat**

CaptCold [1845]: Thanks for the ride, Palmer.

Atomic1 [1845]: anything for one of my best friends!! :D

CaptCold [1846]: [unsent]  ~~ I’m not your ~~

CaptCold [1847]: Merry Christmas.

Atomic1 [1848]: merry christmas! get home safely!

Atomic1 [1848]: }---:o>

Atomic1 [1849]: it’s a reindeer get it?

Atomic1 [1849]: snart, you get it?

**CaptCold has left the chat**

Atomic1 [1850]: [unsent]  ~~ he gets it ~~

* * *

_ [Internal Message Server WVRDR Log] [Keystroke Override Active] _

_ CaptCold has created [Private Chat] _

**WhtCanary has entered the chat**

CaptCold [2350]: So, is Allen going to live?

WhtCanary [2352]: he’s fine. just his pride

WhtCanary [2353]: i’m sorry i ruined your surprise

WhtCanary [2353]: it was very nice

CaptCold [2355]: Lance, you kicked Allen’s ass. That’s the best surprise there is.

WhtCanary [2356]: thanks for the bracelet

WhtCanary [2356]: its beautiful

WhtCanary [2357]: [unsent]  ~~ but i’d rather have you ~~

WhtCanary [2357]: i won’t be able to drink all this alcohol on my own so i guess i’ll save some for you

CaptCold [2358]: How is it?

WhtCanary [2359]: dunno

WhtCanary [2359]: just about to open it

CaptCold [2359]: Perfect timing, then.

WhtCanary [0000]: [unsent]  ~~ what do you mea ~~

CaptCold [0000]: Open the door, assassin.

CaptCold [0001]: [unsent]  ~~ Merry Christm ~~


	18. Wrapping Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18: Wrapping Gifts

Leonard was wandering the ship, unable to sleep. He didn’t ask Gideon to raise the lights, the glow from the tree Palmer had insisted upon enough to guide his steps toward it. His hands were in his pocket, the touch of felt reminding him of his purpose in coming here at this time of night. Before completing his mission, though, he took a moment to look at the presents already under the lit and decorated tree.

He’d never tell Palmer, but the tree looked nice. The decorations were almost tasteful, were it not for the ones that Palmer had added to the traditional baubles and ornaments.

A dead lighter with Mick’s name written on it, a yellow feather for Sara, Stein had a pair of glasses and Jax had a mini wrench. Gideon’s was a dead iPhone, which Leonard hoped she took as a compliment. Rip’s was a little cowboy hat, which made Leonard smile for a moment, before his eyes were drawn to the cut-up piece of paper decorated with blue glitter. A snowflake for Leonard.

Where had Palmer even gotten glitter on this rustbucket?

With a shake of his head, he eyed the presents themselves and smiled faintly, lifting up a perfectly wrapped gift, complete with bow and a tag that read:

_ To: Gideon _

_ From: Your Secret Santa _

It was heavy and he shook it slightly, hearing the bulk of the gift move to one side.

“Shoulda known you’re the kind of guy to sneak a peek.”

Leonard didn’t bother trying to hide it, looking over his shoulder at Sara as she leaned on the console, acting as if she’d been there for an hour. Which, if he hadn’t actively scanned the room to make sure he was alone, he wasn’t certain was false. She had an awful habit of being able to sneak up on him, though the reverse never seemed to work. Regardless of how quiet he was, and he knew he was damn quiet, he never seemed to surprise the Canary. What was surprising was the fact that it didn’t bother him all that much.

He hefted the box in one hand. “How do you know this one isn’t mine?”

“‘Cause I know that’s the gift Ray wrapped.”

“You saw him leave it here? Thought we were supposed to do it in secret.”

Those had been the rules Palmer was insisting on. They’d all been drawn into a Secret Santa gift exchange, with all of them drawing a name, some more reluctantly than others. Ray had insisted on the cloak and dagger part, saying it would make the anticipation all the better.

Not that Len was opposed to secrets. Especially considering the gift he’d picked out.

“I didn’t see him,” she admitted coming over, somehow silent in those boots of hers. She was wearing his favorite red shirt and jeans, not that he’d ever say as much; the ones that clung in all the right places and a copy of the shirt she’d been wearing the day they’d nearly frozen to death. The original had been too badly burnt.

Shaking away that memory, Len arched a brow at her. “Then how are you so confident?”

Sara twirled her finger around the bow. “Perfect corners, holiday ribbon, and a gift tag? Of course it’s Ray. Probably a nice sweater or something.”

“Oh no, birdy. This is a set of books,” he hefted it again, sure of that.

“You an expert on wrapped gifts?” she said, with a little smile.

“I’m an expert in everything,” Len countered, returning the expression.

“You wanna put some money on that?”

“So eager to lose, Lance?”

“Too afraid to take the challenge, Snart?” she shot back.

He laughed and she grinned at him.

“Alright, birdy. What are the stakes?”

“I say who wrapped the gift, and you tell me what’s inside. Tomorrow, we’ll see who’s right. Winner buys the loser a six pack of  _ her  _ choice.”

“I’m intrigued,” he said lowly, seeing a faint blush appear beneath the smile. “Deal.”

“Deal.” Sara sat down on the ground next to the tree and began poking through the presents. Leonard joined her, the only light from the tree itself and the only two awake onboard. He stretched out his legs as Sara sat cross-legged, and picked up a large gift. She eyed the hastily wrapped item. It looked like it was newspaper with no tag, and Leonard was all too familiar with that tactic to be surprised when she confidently said, “Mick.”

She handed it over to him and he arched a brow at the weight. This bet was definitely going to him. He had some insider knowledge, not that he’d tell her. He knew that Mick had to get a gift for Stein. So it was with a sense of confidence that Leonard shook the gift gently and set it down. “Chessboard.”

Sara eyed him suspiciously, but gave him a little shrug and grabbed the next gift. This was clearly a bottle of some kind, and Sara looked at the paper with a grin. “Stein.”

Leonard saw the tiny dreidels on the paper and knew that one had been a gimme for her. No matter. He eyed the gift, then her. “I suppose saying booze isn’t going to cut it.”

“Nope,” she said, looking pleased.

He tried to resist smiling at her self-assurance but failed. He stared at the bag. Stein wouldn’t buy whiskey or bourbon if his life depended on it, and it was the wrong shape for a wine bottle. He was also the only one with as good of taste as Leonard himself. “Scotch,” he said confidently.

Sara took the next one and he saw the hesitation.

“What’s the matter, birdy? Cat got your tongue?” he asked, lounging back on the floor a little.

She cut her eyes at him, but even he wouldn’t have known who wrapped this one. It was simply done in pale blue paper. He caught her glancing at him, but it wasn’t his, not that she knew that. His gift was still in his pocket and he had no intention of pulling it out now.

“I’m gonna say...Jax.”

“Final answer?”

She pushed the present at him with a mock glare. “Come on, then, crook. What’s inside?”

Oh, this one was a challenge. It was as heavy as a bottle of something, but it didn’t have the right shape. He frowned at it, ignoring Sara’s growing grin. He shook it, but couldn’t discern any specific sound. “Booze. But something weird Palmer would like...a cordial.”

“Final answer?” she said.

There was only one gift left, despite the deadline being tomorrow. Sara picked it up and eyed the haphazard wrapping job. Then she grinned. “Rip,” she said with confidence.

“Can’t believe he actually participated,” Leonard said, taking the proffered gift. It was small, rectangular...a box of some kind. Rip wasn’t all that keen on interests besides the obvious, so it was something obvious. Leonard also knew that Rip had gotten the kid as his person, so he used that to hazard a decent guess. “Gonna say...some medal or award. A memento.”

Sara nodded and returned the gifts under the tree, bouncing to her feet. She reached down a hand to help him up, which he gratefully took. Sara didn’t let go immediately, but crossed back over to the console, taking out a very small bag, something that would only hold a piece of jewelry or a gift card if someone wanted to make it fancy.

Leonard, knowing the moment had come, reached into his pocket and pulled out the black velvet bag, dropping it on the branch his snowflake rested on. Sara watched him with a smile, then put her little bag behind some of the other gifts.

“No peeking now,” he told her, as they started off towards their rooms.

“Nope,” she said easily, grinning up at him. “I’m with Ray. I like the anticipation.”

“Do you now?”

They reached her door and Sara opened it without a word, waggling her fingers at him. “See you in the morning, Snart.”

It closed before he could answer and Leonard let out a long, slow breath.

Anticipation just might be the death of him.

* * *

Leonard was still up before most of the crew, despite his late night. The only one who beat him was Ray, complete with Christmas pajamas and a Santa hat.

“Merry Christmas, Snart!”

He winced, pointedly ignoring Ray as he poured a cup of coffee. Only when he took three, very long sips, did he look Ray up and down.

“Morning.”

Not deflated in the slightest, Ray greeted everyone who came in with the same effusive happiness, and Leonard couldn’t help but be a little drawn into it, though he made sure the smile on his face was mostly just condescension. It was less amusing when Ray produced Santa hats for the rest of them. Stein and Jax took them with good-natured holiday humor, Mick took it, but it was clear it wasn’t going anywhere near his head until he was good and sloshed. Rip sighed resignedly and took it, pulling it on and somehow managing to look like Scrooge nonetheless. Leonard was about to refuse, but the grin on Ray’s face couldn’t be ignored. Not only did he take it, he put it on, much to Palmer’s joy and Mick’s open amusement.

Sara came in wearing some sort of terrible Christmas sweater, which Ray loved, of course. He handed her a hat that Sara put on immediately with a big smile. She joined Leonard at the counter he was leaning on after she got a cup of coffee. 

“Don’t you look festive,” Leonard said quietly.

She just grinned up at him and flicked the end of his Santa hat. “Like you’re one to talk, Mr. Kringle.”

“Let’s open presents!” Ray announced and led the way to the bridge.

“Ready to lose?” Leonard asked as he and Sara walked out, side by side.

“I know I won’t.”

Leonard sat on the jump seat as Sara helped Ray in passing out the gifts. He noticed that she brought the bag she’d left there last night back to the seat next to him, where she came and joined him once all the other gifts were doled out.

“You first, Jax,” Ray said, “Since you’re the youngest.”

“Lucky me,” Jax said, jokingly. He opened the gift Sara had identified as Rip’s wrapping and it was a display box. He flipped it open and Leonard saw the kid’s eyes get wide.

Rip cleared his throat. “It was a medal your father got. And a picture of him at the ceremony.”

“Th-thanks, Rip,” Jax said, staring at it. He sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Man, I feel like I was the wrong person to start with.”

Ray was blinking a little too rapidly. “No, that’s a good one.”

“Tied so far,” Sara observed.

“You’re ruthless, Lance.”

“Who’d you have, Jax?” Ray asked after a moment.

Jax coughed. “Um. You, actually.”

Ray grinned and opened his gift, which is not the one Sara said was his.

“Oh, no points for you, birdy.” Leonard sipped his coffee smugly.

“Game’s not over yet, crook.”

Ray cheered, “Yes! This is the collector’s edition set I was telling you about!”

Leonard caught a glimpse of the title:  _ Battlestar Galactica.  _ Figured.

“Okay,” Ray said. “I had Gideon.”

**“You may open it, Mr. Palmer.”**

Ray picked up the box Sara had pointed out and opened it to reveal a box set of...Harlequin romances?

**“Those are perfect, Mr. Palmer. Thank you.”**

“Don’t you have access to all of those?” Rip asked, his eyes lifting upwards.

**“Mine do not come with the covers.”**

Sara snorted as Ray revealed the top book, a cowboy with a half-open shirt and long duster holding a busty brunette very closely.

“Right,” Rip said, clearing his throat. “Okay.”

**“My gift was for Mr. Rory.”**

Mick looked at the gift that Sara had said was Jax’s. Leonard held his breath as Mick opened up the pale blue, wrapped gift (did it come wrapped or did someone have to wrap it for her?). He opened it up and pulled out a bag of -

**“I have upgraded my systems, with the help of Harrison Wells and Cisco Ramon of STAR Labs, and I can now synthesize sugar.”**

“Looks like you weren’t quite expert enough,” Sara said, smiling at him.

“Still tied.”

Wonder of all wonders, Mick stared at it as the kid was still staring at his medal. “Thanks, Metalmouth.”

**“You are most welcome, Mr. Rory.”**

Mick continued staring at the sugar until Ray prompted him. “Who’d you have, Mick?”

“Oh, I had the Professor.”

Stein smiled and opened the hastily wrapped present to reveal a beautiful stone chessboard with a set of translucent and onyx crystalline pieces. Stein’s eyes went wide.

“Mr. Rory, this is...exquisite.” He looked at it for a long moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly. “Is it stolen?” Before Mick could answer, Stein shook his head, “You know what? I like it too much to want to know the answer to that.”

Mick grinned and Stein nodded towards Rip. “I had you, Captain.”

Rip opened the dreidel bag to reveal an excellent bottle of scotch that even had Leonard raising his brows. “Oh, I am very much going to enjoy this.” He cut his eyes over to where Leonard and Sara sat.  _ “Alone,” _ he specified.

“I’d never steal a gift, Captain,” Leonard lied. He definitely would, but he wouldn’t steal  _ that  _ gift. Not this time.

“Thank you, Mr. Snart,” Hunter said, but he tucked the bottle away. 

Ray turned to Sara and Leonard. “Guess you two had each other.”

“Appears so,” Sara said.

Now that the moment was here, Leonard didn’t find himself too keen on the idea of an audience. “Actually, my gift is still in Central City. Cisco failed to get it here in time.”

“Oh no!” Ray said, looking upset. “But Sara -”

“It’s fine,” she said with a grin. “I’ll just hold his gift hostage until I get mine.”

Mick got to his feet. “Dunno about you, but I’m about to take advantage of Gideon’s new food and make myself some donuts. Anyone want some?”

“Oh, me!”

“I’ll partake.”

“Why not?”

“Sharing food, Mr. Rory?”

“It’s a holiday, Professor. Don’t get used to it.”

The rest of the crew filtered out and Leonard put his cup down on the computer, hearing them bicker and talk all the way down to the kitchens. Getting to his feet, he sauntered over to the tree, pulling out the bag Sara had seen him stash there the night before. He bounced it in his hand a moment, lifting his eyes to her. She’d gotten up, coming around to the other side of the jump seats.

“Not a fan of public gift-giving?” Sara asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Don’t do it all that often to have an opinion. But apparently not.” He took a few steps nearer and Sara leaned on the back of the jump seat.

Holding his breath, he tossed the little felt bag at her. She caught it one-handed, her eyes never leaving his face, and he had to admit, that was impressive.

Sara gave him a little smile and undid the little string. She tipped the bag over into her palm, and out came a thin silver chain with a glittering canary, a small blue sapphire for the eye. 

Sara stared at it for a long moment, enough to make him want to speak up or shuffle his feet, but he did neither, locking it all down. He waited that interminable time until she looked up at him, with a beautiful smile on her face. Putting the bag on the chair, she immediately undid the latch and put it on, where it glittered on her garish holiday sweater, beneath her smile and her stupid hat, and Leonard felt he could breathe again.

“It’s perfect, Len. Thank you.”

“I already had the necklace,” he said, his voice sounding as if he hadn’t been on the edge of panic or regret, “just a point of luck I drew you.”

“So you didn’t trade with Mick?” she asked, arching a brow.

Leonard mimicked her expression. “Why would I do that?”

“Well, you already had the necklace, right?” She took a step closer.

He smirked a little. She was right, of course. That’s how he knew Mick had Stein. Because  _ he  _ had been the one to draw Stein’s name.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I traded with Stein to get you.”

“Already had my gift?” Leonard took a slow step closer, as if by accident.

“Kind of.” She reached back and grabbed the little gift bag, handing it to him.

Leonard saw the small gift tag and opened it up, reading:

_ To: Len _

_ Since you haven’t yet _

He reached in, moving past the snowflake tissue paper with a smile, and pulled out - a plant. No, not a plant.  A sprig of mistletoe, bound with a piece of blue ribbon.

Leonard looked up, seeing that Sara had used that silent skill again to take a few steps nearer.

“Never would have guessed what was in this one,” was what he managed to say after a moment.

Sara smiled at him, reaching out to run her finger along one of the leaves. “Wasn’t sure if you were up for the challenge of stealing it, considering it’s been a while.”

“Despite my best efforts, it’s been hard to sneak up on you, assassin.”

Her eyes danced as she looked up at him, the confirmation that both of them were still interested in that…future he’d mentioned.

“Did you know it’s bad luck not to kiss under these things?” he said.

“With our track record, I don’t think we can afford to risk it.” She took one more step towards him, removing all distance save a breath. “Merry Christmas, Len.”

Leonard leaned down, mistletoe in one hand. He stopped and whispered, “Merry Christmas,” against her lips before finally stealing that gifted kiss, stupid Santa hats and all.


	19. All I want for Christmas... - New Orleans Roulette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19 - All I want for Christmas... - New Orleans Roulette

“So how fancy is this place?” Sara asked, adjusting her legs in the back of the town car. Leonard had a visceral memory of being kicked so hard by her she left a bruise for a week and hid his smile. She must have seen something because she arched a brow across the bench seat.

Leonard took a moment to look at her, her hair tumbling over her shoulder as she eyed him suspiciously, though with a touch of humor in her gaze. The bright blue sweater brought out the dancing in her eyes and the black leggings brought out something in him, too. She hadn’t asked any questions about their secret holiday trip, knowing that he enjoyed the theatrics.

“Just wait and see, Doc.”

She smirked and shook her head, looking back out the window.

Dating the prestigious Dr. Lance was a challenge he hadn’t anticipated, but he was doing his best to rise to the challenge.

He’d admit that he’d been...concerned.

Leonard was good at the weekend fling. He didn’t do them often, but he was still good at them. It was the long term he had issues with.

Actually, he wasn’t certain he had issues with them, because it happened so rarely. He wasn’t used to...this. He’d missed their first Christmas together by about two days, having caught Savage the day of. So for this first Christmas actually physically together, he’d gone all out. Trip to Prague, reservations at the Aria Hotel, private boat tour down the Vltava River, beneath the St. Charles Bridge, and dinner at the incredibly romantic Mlynec Restaurant. The best possible evening for the two of them. He had more than enough money saved up from the things he’d stolen and sold, even after playing the hero and returning a good number of them. He’d been on the run for years; he knew how to save.

After his months spent tracking down Savage, Leonard hadn’t been sure how this whole...thing with Sara was going to go. This past year had been easier than he expected, Mick and Lisa thrilled to have him back in the city and Sara fit into their group easier than he ever imagined. It hadn’t felt like a year.

He’d never cared about someone like this before. Reaching over, he took her hand as he looked out the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her looking back at him and felt the squeeze of her hand.

Outside, the cobbled streets of Prague were lightly dusted with snow, the tram that ran through the busier streets decorated with holly as it marched through the town, crowds wrapped in hats and mittens. There was a brief moment where the Christmas Market was visible between two buildings, the lights flashing past as they drove to the hotel.

The town car parked just outside, the driver began to speak when he was drowned out by a loud, almost metallic screeching. Leonard frowned and got out of the car, ignoring the bite of the wind as he looked up, seeing that the whole front of the hotel’s facade was covered in scaffolding and tarps.

“They fix it up,” the driver said, gesturing to the hotel. He got out and pulled their bags out of the trunk, placing them on the sidewalk for them. Dust drifted down from above, and Leonard was unable to even manage a thank you as he paid and tipped the driver, his jaw clenched too tightly for normal conversation.

Sara joined him out of the car, pulling her coat over her shoulders as she looked up. The snow clung to her hair and shoulders, the smile still in place. She put her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her bag without hesitation, heading inside. She only looked back when she got to the door. 

“You coming?” she asked.

Leonard grabbed his bag and followed her up the stairs. The concierge smiled at them as they approached, anxiety apparent at the corner of his eyes.

“Welcome, welcome,” he said, smiling at them.

Sara said hello, her eyes wandering the beautiful statues in the front, her appreciation for art one of the obvious reasons he’d chosen this hotel out of numerous others. She squeezed Leonard’s arm and drifted off to look a bit more closely at some of the other pieces.

Leonard didn’t manage a smile. “I was unaware there would be renovations.”

The concierge blanched slightly. “They were planned for after the holiday season, sir, but we had a strong storm just a week ago which collapsed part of the roof. It was more convenient for us to do the repairs and restorations simultaneously. We are so sorry for the inconvenience, and will, of course, do everything we can to improve your stay.”

Slightly mollified, Leonard gave him his name and reservation number.

The concierge looked it up on the computer and took a deep breath. “A thousand apologies, sir, but the suite you booked originally was actually the room that was damaged.”

Leonard stared at him.

“We, of course,” the man continued, visibly sweating now, “have put you up in the best available suite, for a significant discount for the inconvenience. Along with a dinner at our restaurant and a bottle of wine of your choice, with our apologies.”

“Right.”

“...due to the renovations, there has also been some delay in checkout time, and your room will not be ready until later this evening. My apologies.”

Sara came back to them with a raised brow, looking between them. “Everything okay?”

“Our room isn’t ready,” Leonard managed to say.

“That’s alright,” Sara said. “Is there a place we can store our bags?”

“Of course,” the concierge said, as Leonard handed over his credit card reluctantly. “Of course.”

“We can just walk around for a while,” Sara said.

“We have reservations for dinner,” Leonard admitted, planning on it being a surprise.

“There is a small bridal suite should you wish to change,” the concierge jumped in, “and we would be thrilled to offer you the services of the hotel’s limo for the evening.”

“That’s great,” Sara said. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” he said, relief obvious. “I will have the car ready in a half-hour, so you have time to prepare.” He gestured towards a bellhop, speaking quickly to him in Czech, and the bellhop inclined his head towards Sara, leading her off. Sara took her bag with another look at Leonard.

“See you in a minute,” she said.

Leonard just nodded, grabbing his bag. The concierge grabbed another unfortunate bellhop and had her lead him to a larger room to change.

When he shut the door behind the bellhop - who did not get a tip - Leonard let out a long breath. So, a rough start. No problem. He could fix this.

He unzipped his bag just a touch too harshly and pulled out the suit he’d prepared to wear. The creases were barely visible by the time he had it on, and he felt slightly more human. He fixed the tie he’d done up too tightly, grabbed his coat and bag, and walked back out to wait for Sara.

He didn’t have to wait long. By the time he’d given his bag to the cringing concierge and gotten details about the car, he’d barely found a corner to wait in when Sara came out, deep in conversation with the bellhop who’d walked her over. Leonard was glad because it gave him a moment to catch his breath.

The burgundy tights were functional and warm, the long sleeve black dress, too. It only hit her knees, and the gold ankle boots gave her a few scant inches of height. He may have had doubts about her ability to walk in the snow, but he’d seen her take out men in heels and knew it wouldn’t be a problem. Her hair was in a loose knot, strands already coming free, and it was dressed up with a few small pieces of gold jewelry. She had her jacket over her arm and laughed at something the bellhop said. As she got closer, Leonard overheard part of their conversation.

“Excellent,” Sara said. “Dekuju.”

The bellhop grinned. “You are a very fast learner. Have a good evening, miss.” He split off with a quick nod to Leonard. Sara saw him then, her smile growing.

“Hello, Mr. Snart.” She came nearer, her eyes running up and down the black suit and tie. She looked up at him through her lashes.

“Hello, Dr. Lance.” He couldn’t keep his smile contained then, something finally going right.

“You look very handsome,” she said, the heels still not doing enough as she leaned in to kiss him. Leonard bent down just a bit, not keen on getting carried away in the lobby of the Aria. She broke away first, her tongue darting out for a very tempting moment before she grinned. “Hard to believe you’re still a wanted criminal in sixteen countries.”

“Fifteen,” he corrected, taking her arm to lead her to the car waiting outside.

She laughed and Leonard allowed himself to relax, hoping the rest of the night would go according to plan.

* * *

Leonard stared at the sign on the boat dock. He didn’t read or speak Czech, but he got the gist, especially with all of the caution tape and signs, and the fact that the dock wasn’t actually in one piece anymore.

_ Uzavřen kvůli rekonstrukci _

He ran his hand over his mouth, glaring at the sign as if it would change.

Sara stood next to him, knocking her shoulder with hers. “Come on, crook. Let’s head to dinner.”

He glanced back at the limo. The crowds had been congested, making it hard to get here at all. “Want to walk?”

Sara grinned at him, the lights on the bridge making her glow. “Sure.”

Leonard spoke with the driver, sending him back to the hotel. They could always get a car on the way back. Taking Sara’s hand, they started walking through the streets, passing carolers and groups of children running through the snow. As he predicted, the heels weren’t a problem for her as they walked, talking about Central City and Lisa and Mick and Ray.

Leonard had a fondness for the curator, though he would never be able to explain it.

He had nearly forgotten his former irritation when they got within sight of the restaurant, and Leonard saw the telltale signs of tarp and the yellow signs he was going to be seeing in his nightmares for weeks to come. He still walked up to it, despite seeing the sign in English as well as Czech -  _ Closed. _

“Goddammit,” he muttered, closing his eyes.

Sara leaned her head on his shoulder for a long moment.

“Maybe we should just go back to the hotel,” he said, admitting defeat. This had been an unmitigated disaster. “I’m sorry, Doc.”

“For what?”

He looked down at Sara, who rested her chin on his shoulder, looking up at him. “For tonight. This was supposed to be…” he let out an irritated sigh.

“Len,” she said, getting in front of him. “I appreciate the nice hotel and fancy dinner and plans, but I really don’t need all of that.”

“You deserve something nice.”

“We’re in Prague,” she reminded him, the smile dancing a little. “That’s pretty damn nice.”

“This wasn’t what I planned.”

Sara laughed. “Since when have your plans ever worked out with me?”

Fair point. “Maybe you’re the problem, then.”

“Maybe,” she agreed easily. “But instead of making this some big thing, how about we just enjoy the night?”

“And do what?”

She looked around her, something sparking in her mind. She took his hand and pulled him back in the direction they had come. She drew up short at a cart on the street, eyes lighting up. Eagerly, she darted over leaving him to follow behind.

“Vino, prosim?” she asked of the cart’s owner, pulling out some coins from her pocket.

The woman behind the cart smiled and poured out two cups of dark wine-like liquid into somewhat insulated cups, gesturing with her hands how much it would be.

Sara handed over the coins. “Dekuju,” she said.

The woman laughed, and corrected Sara’s pronunciation, then handed over a warm cookie, waving her hands as Sara offered another coin.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, in a thick accent.

Sara dropped the coin in the tip jar instead and tucked the cookie into her pocket, picking up both cups and turning back to him. She handed one over, and Leonard smelled wine as well as spices.

“Mulled wine,” she said, hooking her arm through his as she continued to lead him.

Figuring it couldn’t hurt, Leonard took a sip, surprised at how delicious it was. The steam swirled out of Sara's cup, framing her face for a moment before vanishing into the growing darkness.

There was the sound of music from further away, and Sara twisted towards it. She started off and Leonard inevitably followed.

They moved between two buildings to find themselves almost in the center of the Christmas Market. Booths were set up, food and gifts and drinks being sold and consumed and enjoyed. There were groups of families, gaggles of children running around, music being played by a live band in a covered alcove. Sara’s eyes were wide as she looked around, trying to head towards the music and the large clock in the corner at the same time.

He’d originally planned to bring her here, but it hadn’t seemed important enough. Apparently, he’d been wrong.

Leonard followed Sara around to the booths, watching her use her limited Czech to get some food and more drinks for them. They’d accidentally stepped in the middle of a small snowball war, Leonard getting winged with one missile. Sara had immediately laughed at him, so he’d retaliated, and the two of them joined opposite teams, unable to communicate with their teammates, but the laughter and shrieks understandable to all. They watched the astronomical clock strike the hour, the saints appearing in the windows as the little skeleton struck out the hour. Leonard slipped away for a quick moment, buying her a small replica of the clock for later. They talked with a few other visitors, they shared previous Christmas stories, ate delicious food that made a mess, and drank more.

Eventually, as the night was dying down, she dragged him over the music, where there were several couples swaying. Leonard and Sara were out of place in their nice clothes, but that didn’t stop her. She didn’t ask him to dance, but he found himself leading her with the music just the same.

“You okay?” Sara asked, looking up at him.

“I wanted tonight to be perfect,” he admitted after a moment.

“Seemed pretty perfect to me.”

Leonard scoffed, looking down at her. “It was a disaster, Doc.”

She laughed, “No, it wasn’t.”

“Doc,” he started, still feeling like he’d messed this up in some way.

“Len. You’ve seen where I live.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’ve broken into my place too many times to count.”

“Well, you took too long to get me a key.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “But what, in my tiny one-bedroom apartment, gave you the idea that I needed an extravagant Christmas?”

He didn’t have an answer for that specifically. “Doc, our first... _ everything _ wasn’t exactly something you’d tell your friends. I’m not great at this whole relationship thing. I just wanted you to be happy.”

“First of all,” she started, “our first everything makes for a hell of a story, and I’m pretty sure Ray’s making it into a book.”

Leonard scoffed, but honestly wasn’t that surprised.

“Secondly, you’re doing just fine at this whole relationship thing, so give yourself some credit. And finally.” She grabbed his coat and kissed him, amidst the snow and music, somehow still stealing his breath despite the many kisses before. He closed his eyes, ignoring the people around them and focusing solely on the impossibly frustrating, brilliant, and amazing woman in his arms.

She broke away, still holding onto his coat. “I am happy, and provided you don’t drug me and the hotel has a bed, I don’t see that changing anytime soon, no matter how many places are closed.”

“Are you ever gonna let that go?” he asked her, leaning his forehead against hers.

“Not likely, Mr. Wynters.”

The musicians started a new song, and Leonard was mid-way through rolling his eyes as Sara grinned at him and sang along as the chorus came in, “‘Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is -”’

He interrupted her and she didn’t seem to mind.


	20. Holding Hands for Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20: Holding Hands for Warmth

Sara was pissed. Arms crossed, she glared across the console as Rip was working on the computer, occasionally telling Gideon to alter one thing or another as he tried to hone in on the frequency. He glanced up once, and Sara narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m doing my best, Ms. Lance.”

“Do better.”

There was a hitch of static, some crackling noise, and Rip’s eyes lit up.

“Mr. Snart? Can you hear me?”

Sara held her breath, waiting, hoping -

_ “About damn time, Hunter,”  _ Leonard answered, his voice irritated and tired and so very familiar.

She exhaled, tension seeping out of her shoulders as she let her arms unfold to lean against the computer.

Leonard had been intentionally put into a prison in Uzbekistan in the 1930’s to recover a piece of Savage’s tech he’d left behind. Getting to it wasn’t a huge problem, Len had been arrested and Gideon had fudged the records to have him put in the same cell Savage had spent a brief period of time in, and where the tech had been buried. He was supposed to be in and out the same day, having gotten information from Gideon and Hunter about the cell and prison.

That had been a week ago. Between the depth of the building, the lead in most of the walls, and the storm hitting them the same day he went in, there hadn’t been any contact until now.

“Hey, crook,” Sara said, missing her card-cheating friend. “Thought you’d be back by now.”

_ “That was the plan,” _ he said, his voice raspy even through the comms.

“What went wrong?” Rip asked.

_ “What went wrong,” _ Len said scathingly,  _ “is that you gave me shitty info, Hunter. These aren’t half-pin barrel hinges.” _

“Well, I -”

_ “Was wrong. And that cost me a week -”  _ He stopped, coughing. Sara looked up, but Rip was avoiding her gaze.

“Do you have another way out?” Rip asked.

He responded after a moment, sounding tired.  _ “If I did, do you think I’d still be enjoying Uzbek hospitality?” _

“What do you need, Len?” Sara asked, as Rip opened his mouth to retort.

_ “Lockpicks. I can get through the rest of the doors, but I need the picks to get out of the cell.” _

“Okay, I’ll -”

Rip put his hand down to pause the call and Sara stopped, looking at him.

“Ms. Lance, the reason Mr. Snart went in alone is that this is a dangerous mission. He was well aware that there isn’t an avenue of extraction should he fail.”

“You got him in,” she argued.

“Mr. Snart was well qualified,” Rip said, gesturing towards the schematics they’d been pouring over for the past five days. "You know as well as I, there are few ways in outside of being arrested, and a woman in an Uzbek prison would not last long.”

“Why’d you send him in without an escape plan?” Sara half-shouted.

“He knew what he was volunteering for.”

“No,” Sara said, shaking her head. “No, I don’t accept this. We have a time machine. We can get him -”

“Not without risking losing you, too,” Rip said, as gently as he could.

“We’ll get him what he needs, and then we can go out the way we’d planned.”

“We can't, without you being arrested. I’ve already lost one member of this team to the mission, I won’t lose another.”

“He’s not lost, not if we -”

_ “Lance.” _

Rip and Sara both jumped, seeing that Rip had removed his hand from the computer to unmute their side of the call.

_ “I knew this could be a one-way trip,”  _ Leonard coughed again.  _ “I destroyed Savage’s tech, so that won’t be a problem.” _

“You are a credit to your profession, Mr. Snart.”

_ “I don’t think that’s a compliment.” _ He cleared his throat.  _ “I’ve got some money set aside for my sister, Lance. See that she gets it. And I-” _

“No,” Sara interrupted. “No, we’re not just giving up.”

“Ms. Lance -”

_ “Sara.” _

She ignored both of them, heading to the fabrication room. “Gideon?”

**“Yes, Ms. Lance?”**

“I don't care what Rip says. Get me a way in.”

* * *

Leonard watched the guard stroll by, a muttered comment that he couldn’t understand as the lights clicked off in his cell block. Tugging the thin blanket he’d been given over his shoulders, Len leaned forward on his cot, wondering if tonight would be the night he didn’t wake up.

Whatever cold he’d picked up in the past few days wasn’t terrible on its own, but the lack of food, sleep, heat, and the less than pleasant welcome party had all combined to make it something truly awful. He was constantly freezing, despite knowing that his fever was only getting worse.

And Rip’s call today wasn’t helpful.

_ “No. No, we’re not just giving up,” _ Sara argued, her voice tight.

_ “Ms. Lance -” _

“Sara,” he started, closing his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, don’t risk yourself for -”

Rip sighed. _ “She’s gone, Mr. Snart.” _

“Don’t let her come here,” Leonard warned. “Take the ship and go. It’s fine.”

_ “I’ll do what I can.” _

Leonard believed him. Hunter might not give a damn about him, but he cared about Lance. He’d keep her alive, as long as he could get her to listen to him...which was a slim chance. Worry tried to grip his chest, but it was interrupted by another rattling cough. He leaned back against the cold wall, closing his eyes.

A rattling noise almost interested him, but he was so tired.

Then there was a thud in front of him. Leonard opened his eyes to see that the vent in his cell, twelve feet off the ground, thirteen inches square, and not an exit possibility was on the ground. He looked up, seeing a pair of legs shimmy out of the narrow hole, before a torso clad in white, and blonde hair slid out.

Sara let herself hang from the vent by the tips of her fingers, then dropped the rest of the way to the ground, catching herself silently.

Leonard didn’t bother to stand, most of his energy taken up in anger.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed.

“Breaking you out,” she answered, not at all perturbed by his attitude.

“I told you -”

“I wasn’t going to leave you to die, Len.”

“Why not?”

They played cards and talked, sure. She was one of the few people on the team who didn’t seem to hate him after he’d ditched Mick. Palmer had his moments and Kendra was faultlessly kind to everyone, but Sara was the closest thing he had to a friend. But he’d left a lot of friends behind before, too. Taking the fall or getting arrested if they couldn't keep up.

“We’re a team,” Sara said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of lockpicks. “Hope this is what you needed.”

“I knew this could be a one-way trip, Lance,” he said, taking the picks with numb fingers.

“Then it’s one-way for both of us, or you’ll find a way out.”

“What’d Rip say?”

“Dunno. He got kind of hard to understand when I broke his nose.”

Leonard stared at her for a long moment, then stood, ignoring the way his legs complained and he swayed on his feet. “Fine.”

He opened the set of picks, glad she’d grabbed the right ones, and pulled out a couple. Even before he got to the door, he knew it wasn’t going to be any good; his fingers were too cold. He couldn't feel them, and if he couldn’t feel them, he’d never be able to feel the tumblers. Flexing his hand, Leonard tried to get feeling back into them, but it was no good. He turned to Sara, who -

Came up beside him and took both of his hands in hers.

Leonard froze, the thought to pull away forefront in his mind, but her hands were so warm. She rubbed them gently between hers and he felt the stinging of pain as the feeling started to return.

“You’re freezing,” she noted, her voice sounding completely calm.

“Heater’s broken.”

Sara smiled, then leaned forward, blowing warm air on his fingers to warm them up further. Leonard had to clench his jaw shut not to make some kind of inappropriate noise, the warmth better than anything he’d felt in the past week.

As soon as the tingling faded and he was able to move his hands without pain, he pulled away and Sara let him go, a twinkle in her eye that suggested she knew what she’d been doing. He ignored that and went to the cell door, the picks working perfectly in the lock. It clicked open after just a second of work. He pushed it open with a piercing creak and he exchanged a glance with Sara as they heard the guards down at the end start moving, their voices loud.

“Your turn,” Leonard said, stepping back to let her go first.

Grinning, Sara stepped forward, her collapsed bo staff appearing from her sleeve. She threw herself into the fray, Leonard watching from behind, knowing he was still too cold and ill to be of much use, but staying close just in case. Sidestepping a body as she flung a guard over her shoulder, Leonard followed her with a faint smile.

Maybe, instead of just playing cards, she’d be interested in learning how to pick locks. He flexed his hand, the lingering phantoms of her hands still on him.

Or maybe she’d be interested in something else entirely.


	21. Christmas Cabin - Granted (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21: Christmas Cabin - Granted (M)
> 
> One of the M-est things I feel like I've ever written, and sheer fan service. So enjoy, if you're into that sort of thing.
> 
> I certainly did. :)

Sara watched the snow swirl around them, the car comfortably cozy compared to the snow outside. Leonard’s finger tapped against the steering wheel in time to the music that was playing, his eyes on the road. They’d stopped seeing cars about ten minutes earlier, not as many people in this part of the mountain.

“Nice of Wells to loan us his cabin,” Sara said, stretching her arms in front of her. Her thick green sweater was rolled up her arms, a little too warm for the car, but she knew she’d need it when they had to get out. The sweater was long enough that the jeans she had on made it more than comfortable enough for a quick jaunt from car to cabin.

“He has six of them,” Leonard retorted, “I’m pretty sure he’s going to write this off as a work expense.”

Sara grinned at the flakes coming down around them. Anything But Common had been growing exponentially in the past two years, S.T.A.R. Labs becoming a hub for metahuman relations and rehabilitation. There had been a few hiccups, a few villains who tried to take advantage of the program, but she had some pretty dedicated metas on her side, and they were quick to remove the problems. Overall, they were successful, but Sara had been pulling long hours lately, until Caitlin had all but ordered her to take time off and Wells had foisted his cabin off on them, not taking any excuses. So they’d loaded up Mick’s car and went off for a long weekend.

“First left?” Leonard asked.

Sara double-checked the directions Caitlin had given her and for the next few minutes, it was just quiet directions before they arrived.

When they pulled up outside of the cabin, they both sat in the car for a moment.

“Well,” Len said eventually, staring up at the perfect looking log cabin, complete with pine trees on the outside and a tall chimney, with a rocking chair on the porch. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so…”

“Cliche?” Sara suggested.

"Rustic," he chuckled, turning off the car and stepping out, snow crunching beneath his boots. Sara joined him, shivering as she pulled her sleeves down and grabbed her coat from behind her seat, tugging it on as she picked up her single bag. Len grabbed his suitcase, his jacket still in his hand as they walked up the short stairs to the cabin door. Sara unlocked it with the key Wells had given her and pushed the door open.

Though the outside looked like a classic cabin, the inside was more like Sara had expected when Wells said it was his - modern simplicity, though with plank floors and exposed wood on the walls. A chandelier hung from the center main room, bedrooms up on the second floor, and a balcony open to the bottom floor. A stone fireplace made its way up the entire house, the kitchen beneath the bedrooms completely updated. Poking her nose in, Sara saw that the bathroom on the bottom floor was also updated, with Wells’s infamous palate of black and white tile. Rolling her eyes, she put their bags by the stairs.

"This is more what I expected," Len said, coming in. He looked at the fireplace. “I’m gonna get some wood before it gets too dark. Why don’t you heat up dinner?”

They’d picked up some food to go from an Italian place on the way up that Caitlin had recommended, so Sara set about unpacking it and setting it out, heating up what needed to be reheated and opening a bottle of wine that Top had given them before she’d left for the holidays.

It was almost ready when Leonard came back in, carrying a pile of logs for the fire. “Need help?” she asked.

“I’ve got it,” he said, putting it in the circular log holder for later. He brushed off his hands and turned to face her.

Sara froze. He’d put on his jacket, finally. But it wasn’t the usual jacket he wore back in Central City, or the nice long coat he’d wear to business meetings in the winter.

It was the  _ parka.  _ Captain Cold’s iconic parka, which she’d only seen him wear twice. Once, when they first met in the bar, and the second time, when he’d burst into a courtroom to falsely prove her innocence. The rest of his clothes, she belatedly noticed because they were his usual, matched with that inauspicious meeting - the tight black pants and boots, the dark sweater.

He frowned at her. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Okay,” he said suspiciously, taking off the coat and hanging it up by the door. Sara glanced at it as he bent down to get the fire started, knocking the chill out of the air that artificial heat struggled to remove.

They went into the kitchen, the pasta delicious, and talked of the foundation and the newer recruits, where they could place some of the metas who were ready to move back into society and which ones they might remove from the prison system. Cecile had been a massive help, helping them go through cases where their foundation might be helpful and her father had even been sending some up from Star City.

Still, as she drank more wine and the conversation began to slow, Sara found it harder to focus on the meal in front of her, and instead focused on the parka hanging just on the edge of her eye line.

“Lance?”

She jerked up, looking at Leonard with a sudden smile. “Sorry, what?”

He leaned forward. “You alright?”

“I’m fine,” she said, grabbing both of their plates and heading to the sink to rinse them. She didn’t look behind her, knowing that he was watching her. She finished with the dishes, taking an inordinate amount of time to wash and dry them. When she turned around finally, Leonard was still watching her, on his feet, his wine gone.

“Want to put on a movie or something?” She walked past him towards the couch, where she’d brought her laptop for just that purpose. As she passed Leonard, he grabbed her hand and stopped her, tugging her back towards him.

“Alright, Sara-Sara,” he said, pulling so she sat on the table in front of him. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing,” she said, but he still didn’t let go of her wrist.

“You’ve been distracted since we got here. You worried about your kids?”

It was the joke around the Cortex that all the metas ended up being Sara’s kids, and a good portion of them ended up calling her ‘Mom.’ Leonard had leaned into it. Joke was on him, because she knew that at least four of them called Len ‘Dad’ when he wasn’t in earshot, usually right after he told them off for one thing or another, and it was catching on.

“No, I know Wells and Snow can take care of anything,” she said.

"Then what's the issue?"

She lowered her eyes for a moment, playing with the sleeve of his sweater. “You’re going to laugh.”

“A definite possibility.”

She looked up long enough to glare at him, catching the edge of his smirk. He put his hands on either side of her. “Spill, Lance.”

She rolled her eyes. “You were wearing your parka.”

“Yes…? It’s cold.”

“I know. But that’s your Captain Cold parka.”

Even without looking, she could see the look of frustrated confusion on his face as he tried to decipher her inarticulate rambling. She sighed and looked up at him, knowing that they were long past the point of embarrassing themselves in front of one another.

Still, it took her a while to get to the point. “I wasn’t expecting it, and I saw you in it, and it just sort of hit me that I like the idea of maybe me and you...wearing that parka and acting like you used to.”

It clicked, and he arched a brow at her, but he didn’t laugh. “You want Captain Cold?”

“I think it’d be fun.”

“Fun,” he repeated slowly.

“Look,” she said, draping her arms over his shoulders. “I love Leonard Snart, more than anything. But...I have to admit, back at the Saints and Sinners, when I first saw you in the whole Captain Cold getup, I thought it was pretty hot.”

“Cold was an asshole,” Len reminded her.

“I know, but you’re not. It would just be pretend.”

“Mhmm,” he murmured, the frown fading, but she still couldn’t tell if he was into the idea or not.

“We don’t have to, Len,” she said after a moment. “Really. It was just a silly thought.”

He leaned down, kissing her lightly, just enough to make her start to feel warm, before he pulled away, his nose brushing her cheek.

“Why don’t you head upstairs?” he suggested quietly.

Sara pulled back far enough to see his eyes. There was a faint smile on his face, and his eyes were unclouded. He was willing to play along.

“Okay,” she said, slightly breathless with just the thought of the game.

He removed one arm, letting her slide out from between him and the table. She grabbed her bag and started upstairs. Before she reached the room, she saw Leonard leave the kitchen and grab his jacket from by the door, watching her head upstairs.

Sara exhaled shakily and went to the master bedroom upstairs. The bed was massive, with clean sheets and a dark red comforter already in place. She went to the sink and brushed her teeth, getting rid of the wine and garlic in her mouth. Then she pulled off her boots, socks, and jeans. She reached into her bag for one of the pieces of lingerie Gypsy had made her buy the last time they did a girls’ night out with her, Snow, and Top. Before she found it, there was a knock on the front door.

Almost laughing at herself for how her heart sped up, despite knowing damn well who was on the other side of the door, Sara hurried down the stairs, donning a look of confusion as she opened the door just a bit.

“I’m sorry, I -”

There was no one there.

Sara’s frown was definitely not fake then, as she looked out on the porch for any sign of her crook and saw only drifting snowflakes.

“Hello?” she called out, but there was no answer. She looked for another moment, then closed the door, starting back upstairs. Despite the fire, the air that had snuck in when she opened the door caused goosebumps to erupt on her bare legs as she went back up. On her way, she turned out the large chandelier, leaving only the firelight from below and the light she’d left on in the bathroom upstairs.

Sara stepped into the master bedroom and five steps in, flinched as she stepped in a patch of wood that was cold and wet.

There was a creak as the door to the master bedroom clicked closed, and standing behind it was - 

Captain Cold.

The parka, the pants, the gloves, the boots, even the goggles around his neck (where had those been?), were all perfect, but it was more than that. It was the way he lounged against the wall, looking at her through half-lowered lids, his eyes moving up her legs deliberately.

“Usually, people who are looking for me are angry men in uniforms,” he said in that low, affected drawl Sara heard so rarely now. Now, just like two years ago, the voice seemed to go right through her bones and Sara shivered. He took a few steps forward, the boots echoing hollowly in the silence of the room. “Are you part of some new and inclusive program?”

Jesus, she hadn’t expected him to go for the roleplay so readily. Her mind blanked for a moment as she tried to come up with a response to play along. “I wanted to meet you.”

“Make a habit of meeting criminals, miss…?”

“Sara - Sara Lance.” God, she stuttered on it just like she had the first time. “And no.”

She could see a flicker of her Leonard behind the act, the lift of his mouth just briefly, as he stepped even closer. She took an instinctive step back, hitting the post of the four-poster bed behind her. “Well, Sara-Sara,” he said, her familiar nickname sounding much slower now, in that lower voice, “here I am.”

He took another step, looming over her, her back against the pole and her front nearly touching him. She could feel the chill from outside on his coat, see some of the crystals still clinging to the edge of the fur-lined hood. Everything about him exuded cold, but Sara only felt warmer with every inch he neared her and every syllable that came out of his mouth.

Her eyes darted between his, her heart rattling in her rib cage. He hadn’t even touched her, and she was already breathless.

“Anything else you wanted?” he asked, one gloved hand playing with the strands of blonde hair that had fallen over her shoulders. “Or are you... _ satisfied _ with looking?”

Sara shivered again, fighting the urge to close her eyes. “I wanted - I want you.”

She could see his eyes get darker, just as affected as she was by this whole scene. His hand moved up, the leather chilled from his time outside, cupping her cheek as he leaned down, his cool lips brushing the hinge of her jaw. “Want me to do what?” he murmured in her ear, his voice so arrogant and smug and still sending shocks through her system.

Giving in, she closed her eyes, leaning against his hand. “Anything. Everything. Anything you want.”

There was an audible hitch in his breathing then, but he recovered almost instantly, his hand going from cupping her cheek to gripping her hair, tugging it slightly as he hovered over her lips.

“Dangerous game, Sara-Sara.”

He kissed her, but it was so different than normal. Leonard Snart was confidence and skill, and equally focused on her enjoyment. Captain Cold was arrogance and prowess, and though she was certainly enjoying it, that was not a priority. Captain Cold took and took and  _ took,  _ controlling every movement with the hand in her hair, and when he finally pulled away, her lips felt bruised and swollen, her breath coming in pants.

Tugging her head to the side, he began to move down her neck, his teeth scraping against her skin. Sara, too worked up, held onto the edges of the coat he had yet to remove, only standing because of the knee he had pressed between her legs, the post behind her, and the painful-pleasure of the tug on her hair. Reaching the edge of her sweater, Len -  _ Cold  _ \- stopped, nipping her hard enough to leave a mark and making her hiss.

He pulled back, the grip on her hair loosening slightly. Sara could see her Leonard again, in the faint lines of concern on his face. She gave him a quick smile and the mask came back up, with an arrogant smirk as he let go of her hair and stepped back, not very far.

“Take it off,” he told her, his voice somehow even lower than before. He stared down at her, his eyes dark, and Sara could see her reflection in his goggles, her face flushed and lips red, hair already tousled.

She reached down, grabbing the hem of her sweater and pulling it up over her head as he just watched, his gloved hands flexing at his side briefly. She let it fall, removing the rest of her clothing without his prompting until she stood bare in front of Captain Cold, who was still completely dressed. He took his time looking at her, her skin feeling tight as his gaze moved over every inch. Sara stared up at him, her tongue darting out to moisten her dry lips, and his eyes followed the movement, visibly swallowing.

His mask was still up, but Sara could tell her Len was struggling now, between wanting to tell her what to do as Captain Cold would have, and not wanting to ask.

She met his eyes with a little smile, letting her Len know she was game for whatever. 

He matched it for a moment, then Cold appeared again, looking down at her. "On your knees, Sara-Sara."

Sara knelt, a surge of lust shooting through her. Letting out a breath that was half-disguised as a chuckle, he undid the snap on his jeans, the sound of the zipper loud in the silence.

Cold’s hand tangled in her hair again, but she didn’t wait for him to pull her forward. She immediately moved, taking him into her mouth and reveling in the short breath that escaped before he locked down the noise. He tugged her hair to pull her back, but never forced her forward, not that she would have minded. Sara gripped at his thighs, her nails catching on the denim as she followed his lead.

Before too long, he pulled her off, a little rougher than before, and hauled her to her feet to kiss her again, a bruising, wonderful, ache of a kiss, and Sara finally wove her hands around his neck, running her fingers through his hair before letting them dive down the back of his coat, feeling the lines of muscle and scars -

He grabbed her wrists and removed her hands from his skin, gripping her tightly with the leather gloves that were significantly warmer now. “No,” he growled. “This is about what I want, isn’t it?”

Before she could answer, he moved back to her neck, biting just hard enough to leave marks before soothing it with a kiss from his still-cool lips. He still held her hands captive, not that she would have gone anywhere.

“Yes,” she belatedly answered him, her eyes half-closed. “Yes. What do you want?”

He breathed out against her skin, his tongue darting out to the hollow of her throat. Then he let go of her wrists. “Get on the bed.”

It was simple to follow the order, as her knees just about gave beneath her at the command. She sat on the edge and shifted backward as Cold leaned over her, following until she was lying down across the bed and he loomed over her, kneeling between her legs with an arm braced up next to her head.

His hand wrapped around the back of her knee, pushing it up towards her chest to open her up even more. With a smug grin and no other warning, Cold pushed in a single thrust, bottoming out and knocking the breath out of her lungs. She tried to reach for him, but he gripped both of her wrists in his free hand, holding them above her head. If she tried, she could get free, but that wasn’t part of the game. Cold didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath, setting a punishing pace, and still keeping a distance, pressing her down into the bed and looking down at her.

Len was all about kissing during sex and the more touching, the better, but there was something to be said for the intent focus with which Cold was watching her as he pushed her to her limit and just beyond, the bruising pace just enough to hurt, but not enough to make her ask to stop. She could feel the press of his zipper at every thrust, feel his hand clenching around the back of her knee, still gloved.

The selfishness, the greed of this shouldn’t have been as enjoyable as it was, but every move was in just the right way, at just the right angle, that Sara couldn’t help her climax from crashing into her, almost painful in its suddenness. She arched up, bound at points by his grip on her, her wordless cry echoing in the room as he watched her with dark eyes, never stopping in his movements, only the tightening grip on her wrists and knee indicating he was affected at all. He dragged it out, her overly sensitive body tingling as he continued to pound into her. It was almost too much, unfiltered sounds escaping from her as he chased his own pleasure. Suddenly, he pressed hard into her and her cry was echoed by Cold with a final few, punishing thrusts as he followed her.

Sara closed her eyes for a second, trying to remember how to breathe. She felt the hands leave her wrists and knee, and he rolled off of her, lying next to her on the bed.

For a moment, the two of them just tried to catch their breath. Sara looked over at him with a breathless grin.

Leonard - her Len - glanced at her, then let out a little laugh. "Okay. I can...see the appeal, now."

"You had fun?" she asked, knowing that he did, but still wanting to check.

"I did," Leonard said, taking off his gloves and goggles, sitting up enough to strip off the parka and tossing it onto the floor.

He glanced back at her, still lying bare on the bed, then leaned over to kiss her, slow and deep and so very different than a few minutes earlier. Sara wrapped her arms around him, enjoying being able to touch him, as much fun as it had been to play.

"You're okay?" he murmured, pulling back enough to look her in the eye, brushing her hair out of her face gently.

"Very okay," she assured him, smiling. "Thought that was obvious."

"Good." He chuckled and kissed her again. "But next time," he murmured, "I think you should wear the parka."

"Oh,  _ deal." _


	22. Oh no the power went out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 22: Oh no the power went out

The lights went out.

Leonard was reading when it happened and closed his book, putting it off to the side of his bed. He waited for Gideon’s emergency power to kick on, but nothing.

“Gideon?”

No answer.

They hadn’t been flying, so he doubted it was due to a jump or, more cliche, time pirates. They’d been parked in their usual spot in Central City, the crew off and about for the holidays. He’d elected to stay aboard, his close call on the Oculus still a little fresh in his mind and Lisa out of town with some of her friends.

Reaching for his nightstand, he tried to grab his phone, but couldn’t seem to find it. Slowly, he got to his feet, reaching out for the door.

It might be safer to stay in the room, but he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of waiting in the dark.

His knuckles hit the door, which didn’t open. Having done it in the past, just to be certain he could, Leonard found the sensor at the top of the frame and popped it open, flipping the switch to unlock the door and pried it open. It slid with only a slight struggle and he slipped out the second it was large enough, letting it slide closed behind him.

The hallway was also pitch black, but had that empty, yawning feeling of being too open, especially in the dark. Pushing it down, he took a few steps, caught between calling out for his team or moving in silence, in case he was wrong and something had boarded. Erring on the side of caution, he was quiet, listening. Which is how he heard a thud from the room across the hall.

Leonard stepped across the empty hall, letting go of the wall on his side to grope blindly for the door opposite him.

“Lance?” he called out, finding the frame of her closed door.

“Leonard?” she answered, her voice a little sharper than normal.

“Yeah. You okay?”

“My-my door won’t open.”

He frowned at the door, not needing to have Palmer’s Ph.D.’s to know why a dark, enclosed space might be a trigger for her. She’d given him enough backstory during their games of cards.

“Gideon?” he called again, a little louder. No response still. “Power’s out,” he told Sara, unnecessarily. “Mine was shut, too. Can you reach the sensor at the top?”

“I don’t- I don’t know.”

“Get to the door, Lance,” he told her. From behind the metal, he could hear some shuffling and when she next spoke, she was right on the other side.

“Okay.”

“Find the seam of the door, where it opens, and go straight up to the top of it. Feel that box?” He rested his palm against the door, feeling a subtle thud as she hit it.

“Y-yeah.”

“Pop it open.”

There was a clatter as the plastic cap hit the ground.

“Got it,” she said.

“Reach inside, behind the wires there’s a switch, like a fusebox.”

There were a few smaller sounds, and a noise that might have been a sob of anger. “I can’t reach it.”

Leonard frowned at the door, resting his forehead against it. “It’s right at the bottom of the box, Lance. You can reach it.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. Just jump and press it.”

It was silent on the other side and Leonard waited, closing his eyes as he tried to hear anything through the metal.

“I’m right here, Sara.”

A few shuffles and a thud, then the telltale click. Leonard immediately began pulling the doors apart, creating a gap. Before it was open nearly enough, he felt a figure burst out and hit him around the middle, knocking him away from the door. He caught himself before he fell, one arm going around her shoulders automatically.

His second thought was to push her away, but her shoulders were shaking and her heart pounding against her ribs so quickly he could feel it. So he steadied the two of them, and let his other around come around her, her own grip around him almost too tight for comfort, as he awkwardly rubbed her back for a moment.

The last time they’d been this close was when they were freezing to death. Odd that he sometimes missed that moment.

Without being able to see her, Leonard was hit by the waft of her shampoo, something floral but not overpowering. He could feel cotton beneath his fingers, thin enough that he noticed some scars beneath the fabric. Some of the stories he’d gotten, but he didn’t think he’d heard this one, that spread from her spine to her side -

Realizing what he was doing, Leonard returned his hand to her shoulder and remained there.

Eventually, Sara’s breathing evened out and she straightened up, but didn’t let go of him. She just wasn’t leaning against his chest anymore. He couldn’t see her, but he could feel his jacket pull a little as it caught slightly in her hair.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, a hint of chocolate on her breath.

“It’s fine.”

She let one arm fall, but he could feel her still holding onto the edge of his coat with the other hand. Again, the instinct was to step back, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The thought was there, but he couldn’t act on it. Instead, he blindly reached down to where she still held onto him, taking her hand.

“Come on,” he said to the darkness, glad it couldn’t see the heat on his face. “Let’s try to get to the bridge.”

Her hand tightened around his. “Okay.”

Extending his free hand in front of him, Leonard moved forward slowly but confidently, having explored this ship in the dark before. Just not this all-consuming darkness.

And not with an assassin hanging onto him like a lifeline.

He knew how many steps it took to get to the bridge, but there was a clatter from up ahead and he paused.

“Think it’s the team?” Sara whispered, her other hand coming up to hold onto his forearm. Her shoulder brushed his back from how close she was standing.

“I don’t know. Want to risk it?”

“See if we can hear something,” she responded.

Hugging the wall, Leonard moved a little nearer, recalling the small alcove just outside the bridge, down a slight step to the grating below. A perfect place to listen in and make sure it was their crew, without being exposed if someone came walking up.

He slid into the spot, putting his back against the side of the wall and tugging Sara in after him. Her hands shifted to hold onto his jacket again as he moved her against the wall with one hand on her shoulder.

They held their breath - or at least, he couldn’t hear her breathing - as they listened to the bridge. Another clatter and a swear that Leonard could almost recognize. He leaned forward automatically, as if that helped him hear more.

“Oh, come on,” the voice said plaintively. 

Sara huffed out a little laugh that seemed to tangle in his shirt. “It’s just Ray. I bet he’s trying to fix it.”

“Bet he’s the cause of this, too.”

Sara laughed again and he felt her breath against his neck, and a corresponding shiver down his spine. He tried to step out of the alcove, but underestimated how tall the step was. His boot caught on the edge and Sara’s hand tightened on his coat to keep him from falling, which just served to make him turn, trying to catch himself against the wall and keep Sara from falling with him.

He froze, his forearm braced on the wall somewhere above Sara’s head and his other arm around her waist. He could feel she was off-balance, her leg half tangled in his as she clung to his jacket to keep upright.

“Smooth move, crook,” she said with a faint laugh. “I see now why you don’t dance.”

“This is about the extent of my moves,” he drawled back, trying to find a way to straighten without dropping her or tripping both of them. Sara shuffled for a moment, then huffed, her breath hitting his cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck and extricated her leg from his without toppling either of them. Leonard tightened his grip around her waist automatically, and she shifted to be mostly standing on her own.

But she didn’t move her arms.

And he didn’t let her go.

He couldn’t see her, but he knew. He knew that she’d be smiling that same little smile when she asked him to dance back in the 70’s. He knew that her eyes would be blue and dancing as she looked up at him. He knew that if she didn’t want to be here, right here with him, she would make a joke right now and or he would, and they’d be back to what they were -

Silence.

He felt her breath on his cheek as he looked down to where her eyes would be, a strand of her hair tickling his shoulder. He could feel the tips of her fingers running along the back of his neck, her lips brushing barely-there against the corner of his mouth. He could feel her pulse just as frantic as it was a few minutes earlier, for very different reasons, and echoed by his own, matching the rapid staccato.

He turned, just a bit, just enough, so that his nose bumped hers, his lips parting as she let out a faint, fluttering sigh and he leaned in -

There was a click and the power came back on, far brighter than it had been when it went off. The ship nearly glowed with twinkling lights hanging from every exposed part of the ceiling in bright colors of white, red, green, blue, and yellow. Illuminated holly garland covered every available surface and a nest of cords and cables was running towards the bridge.

But all Leonard could see at the moment was Sara leaning up towards him, her eyes dark and clear, the two of them closer than they’d ever been. Lights surrounded them and for a moment, it was like they were the only two people in the world.

“Haircut!” Mick bellowed. “What’d you do?”

Sara and Leonard separated as Mick’s voice echoed in the hallway behind them, footsteps thundering down towards them. He stepped out of the alcove and Sara followed him. Rip was coming out of the captain’s quarter, his chair overturned as he glared at Ray, who was on the floor by the computer, dozens of cords protruding from the console.

“Dr. Palmer, really, this is not the sort of behavior I expected.”

“I was just trying to make it a bit more festive.”

“By nearly overloading Gideon?!”

Leonard let out a sigh and crossed his arms, noting the luminescent tree in the corner. It did look very festive, minus the blackout.

“Gideon?” Rip called.

**“I am back online, Captain. Thank you.”**

Ray grinned, “See? No harm done.”

“Oh, goddammit,” Rip muttered.

Sara grinned at the show, then turned on her heel, back down the hallway towards her room. Leonard gave it a half-second, then followed her.

Her door opened automatically when she got there, and she bent down to pick up the cap that she’d broken off the sensor. She tossed it in her hands before looking up at him.

Leonard didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent.

She chewed her lip for a moment, drawing his eyes down. She gave him a little smile. “So, crook. Got any other moves you wanna show me?”

He grinned back at her. “Maybe a couple.” He stepped into her room and the door shut behind him. Sara stepped into his space, sliding her arms around his neck again as he held her close. Leonard took a second to catch his breath and, hating the thought, knew he’d have to get Ray something nice for unintentionally getting him here.

Sara’s eyes moved between his as she leaned in and whispered, “Lights on or off?”

(They kept them on.)


	23. Meeting the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23: Meeting the Parents

Music was coming through the speakers of the  _ Waverider, _ the bridge decorated with a tree, holly and ivy, decorations, and more tinsel than Leonard had ever seen before.

Though the Legends had avoided hosting any holiday shenanigans in the past, they’d been unable to get out of it this time. Something about Arrow Cave undergoing renovations and STAR Labs having some sort of quarantine outbreak. So Sara had called Ray, who’d come and...decorated. Leonard would have been more irritated about the effusion of holiday decorations, but it had been shoved to the end of the list.

Three months ago, he’d found himself standing in the middle of STAR Labs, his arm still extended from holding in the bomb at the Oculus. Cisco was wearing some weird goggles that Leonard immediately pointed at.

“Goggles are my thing.”

After the shock had worn off, Team Flash had explained that he’d been dead for three years, even though it felt like seconds to him. How he came back was a combination of Infinite Earths and something to do with Cisco trying to get in touch with a...different him?

It was all very confusing, and Leonard had been looking to return to the  _ Waverider, _ only for them not to appear for another two weeks, and then it wasn’t Hunter who led the team off the ship, but Sara Lance herself, who’d frozen upon seeing him.

Once they’d explained everything, Leonard had been welcomed back into the fold as the resident thief. He got on well with John and Charlie, and though Mick and he had to find a new type of balance, they were still close. Ray left shortly after Leonard’s return, to get married. Behrend and Zari were amusing enough, and Sara…

They played a lot of cards and talked, but there had been nothing else. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not surprised. Every once in a while, there would be a...moment of something. A whisper of potential that he was too cowardly to take. He decided he’d rather have her friendship than nothing, and the two of them quickly became as close, if not closer than they’d been before he’d died. She talked about the death totem and her breakup with Ava, while he shared more of his childhood with her than he had ever told anyone before. But he avoided all talk of relationships and “me and you” and the kiss at the Oculus, even if it was always on his mind. The past two and a half months had been a new lease on life and he wasn’t taking any chances with messing it up by getting greedy.

God, he was such an oxymoron. The temperate thief.

So, when Ray decorated, Leonard held his tongue. He eyed the excessive tinsel with visible and obvious distaste, but he didn’t actually say anything. Sara had landed the  _ Waverider  _ in a small field just outside the city, and everyone drove out. And he did mean everyone.

Team Flash, and their respective spouses, Team Arrow and their respective spouses and children, who Leonard was avoiding. Martin’s family drove out with Jax and his wife and baby. Ray and Nora, obviously. Sara’s father had come down with Felicity’s mother, and even Supergirl made an appearance.

They had dinner on the bridge, Barry bringing tables from the lab and Gideon fabricating an excellent roast that they’d all had far too much of. Then the drinking and chatter before dessert and presents. Leonard lingered on the outskirts, catching Mick’s eye as the little Jefferson baby was learning how to stand using his leg as a post. He grinned at his friend, who flipped him off in return. Leonard was about to respond in kind when he was approached by Quentin Lance, who he'd never actually met in person before, though he'd seen pictures and heard stories from Sara.

The man looked tense, though Leonard wasn’t surprised, considering he made the drive up to Central City with Donna. He had a water in his hand as he came over. Leonard nodded at him, which was apparently considered tacit permission to start up a conversation.

“You must be the Leonard Snart I’ve heard so much about,” Quentin said, holding out his hand.

Leonard shifted his drink to his other hand and took it. “That’s me.” He waited for the judgment as the cop looked over the crook, but didn’t see any.

“I'm Quentin.” He dropped his hand and narrowed his eyes in the same way Sara did when she was trying to figure someone out.

Leonard managed a half-smirk. “Sara's father. Pleasure.”

Quentin snorted at that, taking a sip of his drink. “So how’s my daughter been?”

He was aware that Sara called her dad much more frequently after the whole “returned from the dead” thing (seemed to be a running theme in their lives), so there wasn’t much he could say that would be a surprise. “She’s an excellent captain, who just keeps getting better. Took down a few wayward Encores last week without breaking a sweat.”

“That’s my girl,” Quentin said, managing a smile. He stared at Leonard awkwardly for a moment, until the crook arched a brow, waiting.

“Sorry, just tryin’ to...Sara's told me a lot about you.”

“Hopefully only the moderately terrible facts.” Leonard took a sip from his drink.

“A few of those. Criminal mastermind, hell of a thief, heard all about that.”

That phrase nearly made Leonard choke on his drink, but he stemmed his reaction. “No mystery here, then.” He let his eyes drift back over to Mick, taking a short detour over Sara in the corner, with Iris and Caitlin, her arm around Jax as they talked.

Quentin smiled, but it was a little tight. “I’m more interested in the whole ‘saved her life and broke her heart’ thing, though.”

Leonard looked back at Quentin. “What?”

He shuffled, a frown appearing. “Sorry, you're from the, uh, the right Earth, right? You’re the Snart who died and came back?”

“Yes,” he answered slowly, drawing out the last sound out of fear for what was going to come next.

“Then I'm right. That move was…” Quentin trailed off, shaking his head. “I mean, I'm obviously thrilled Sara made it out there okay, thanks to you, but that was a rough few weeks afterward.” He lifted his eyes to his daughter across the room, who was blissfully unaware of the conversation. “Never seen Sara like that before. Or since.”

Leonard lifted his drink but decided he wouldn’t be able to swallow past the knot in his throat. Lowering his glass again, he struggled to find something to say. The idea that his...team had lived for years while he was frozen, thinking he was dead… He’d heard stories from Mick, about the Legion Leonard, and the other Earths, and the Gideon-version of him.

Had it been Sara who died, and then he’d had to go years seeing versions of her that weren’t the right ones, he wasn’t sure how he’d deal with it.

“I’m…” Leonard cleared his throat, rephrasing his words. “I wish things would have happened differently at the Oculus, but I don’t regret what I did.”

Quentin stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you, for doing that.”

“I’d say anytime, but…”

Quentin chuckled quietly, taking a sip of his water. “So, Sara told me the fight with the yeti was easy. What’s the real story?”

Recalling Sara’s tumble down a small cliff and into a sludgy pile of muck with a grin, Leonard spun the tale, allowing himself to push back the feelings the conversation had brought up. Quentin laughed at all the right moments and when it wrapped up, held out his hand again.

“Thanks for that. I figured there was more to it. I’m glad she’s got you to watch her back.”

That, he would do without issue. “Of course, Mr. Lance.”

“Quentin is fine.”

“Quentin,” Leonard repeated.

His eyes sliding over to Sara, Quentin let out a sigh and dropped his voice. “For what it’s worth, I like you, Snart. Not entirely thrilled with my daughter dating a criminal -”

Leonard froze his drink halfway to his mouth.

“- but I suppose as a former assassin, it all washes out.” He smiled, but it faded as he saw Leonard’s expression.

“I’m sorry,” Leonard said slowly. “What?”

“You knew Sara was an assassin, right?”

“Yeah, that part I was aware of.” 

“You two are together, aren't you?” Quentin asked, sounding so sure of something Leonard had given up hope on.

“No.”

For the first time, Quentin seemed unsure. “But Sara, she said you two were like a team all on your own.”

They did their fair share of missions together, and they worked better together than most of the other potential duos on the team. “We are,” he admitted.

“She said you talk her off the bloodlust or whatever it's called.”

“I do, but -” Was the room suddenly a little too bright? He couldn’t be sure. Mick was frowning in his direction.

“You're her backup on missions,” Quentin kept going, insistent that he was right about something Leonard so very much wanted to be true. “She said you're her best friend.”

“All of that's true, but we're not…” Leonard trailed off. They weren’t together. They weren’t anything. They weren’t a couple. They weren’t going to be, and he’d accepted that, but - “We're not.”

Quentin shook his head, “I thought that’s why she invited me here, to meet you, since just last week she told me she's in love with -”

Leonard’s head snapped around towards him and Quentin cut himself off, color rising in his cheeks.

“Ah, I…” Quentin shut his mouth and shook his head again. “I’m sorry, I should check on Donna.”

He left, and Leonard watched him go, drink forgotten in his hand.

A few minutes later, Mick, who had finally freed himself from Jax’s son, came over. “Everythin’ alright, boss? What’d Blondie’s dad want?”

“I’m fine,” Leonard answered curtly, downing his drink in one.

Mick frowned, but didn’t argue, and Leonard was relieved when Gideon announced that dessert was ready.

* * *

Sara wasn’t surprised by the knock on her door after all of their guests had left. She’d told the crew they were staying in place for the next three days, so many of them took advantage of shore leave, heading back into the city for some fun for the holidays and to visit family. But she hadn’t seen Leonard leave, despite Mick heading out with Ray and Nora.

She got to her feet and opened her door, smiling when she saw Leonard. “Hey.”

He lifted up their well-worn deck. “Cards?”

They sat on her bed, both of them leaning against the wall, parallel to one another. Making a mental note to hide her cards a bit better, she took a quick look at them.

Cards with Leonard had been the best moments since his return. Obviously, she’d hoped for...more, but she wasn’t going to ask for something he clearly wasn’t interested in any longer, even if she hadn’t given up hope. Having Leonard back, even just as a good friend, was worth every lonely night for the rest of her life.

Oddly, Leonard didn’t start in with some tale of his youth immediately. He’d recently been regaling her with heists from his younger years, and they were impressive. Instead, he seemed oddly focused on his cards without actually seeing them, as he lost the first game. Sara narrowed her eyes at him as she scooped up the cards to shuffle them. The corner of his mouth lifted and he played with a loose thread in her comforter.

“I met your dad today.”

“Oh?” Sara said. She knew her dad wasn’t against Leonard, not after she’d told him that he’d saved her.

“Nice guy,” he said.

Sara smiled, dealing out cards.

“Want to tell me why he seemed to think we were dating?”

Sara nearly dropped the deck, feeling the blood leave her face as she blanched. “I…” she groped for some reasonable response that wouldn’t drive him away. She’d been so careful about keeping up the lines he put in place, and she was going to kill her dad if he’d ruined it with a single conversation. “I talk about you and he thinks anyone I talk about is someone I'm interested in. Kind of the double-edged sword of being bi.”

“Hmm.” He lifted her eyes to her and Sara had to dig deeply into her training to not fidget beneath his gaze.

“It was just like a teammate thing,” she said, keeping her eyes on him.

Leonard smiled. “Of course.” He picked up his cards and Sara held her breath as he discarded one, play passing to her. She picked up a card and put one down, the tension leaving her as Leonard didn’t say anything -

“So you normally tell him you’re in love with a teammate?”

Sara dropped the cards that time, on her feet before Leonard moved. “I didn’t -”

“So you aren’t?” he asked.

Despite hating herself, Sara couldn’t lie to him, not about that, even if it did ruin their friendship. “Len, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to - he doesn’t know that you - I’m sorry, please, don’t leave,” she said quickly.

“Why would I leave?” he asked, going to the edge of the bed, but not standing.

“You’re not interested and I get it, and I’m sorry. I promise I won’t -”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he interrupted.

She stared at him. “Because you don’t want that anymore.”

“I never said that.”

“But you never...said anything,” she said, still in the middle of the room.

“Neither did you,” he pointed out, getting to his feet.

“I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“I didn’t want you to feel obligated.” He took a step towards her.

“I don’t feel obligated,” she said, moving closer.

“And I’m not scared.”

Sara couldn’t stop her smile then, taking another step. “Well, then,” she said quietly.

“Well, then,” Leonard repeated, slowly putting his arms around her, giving her an opportunity to move away. She didn't.

Sara leaned up and he met her halfway, and there were no more miscommunications.

* * *

Quentin hummed quietly, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel as they drove back to Star City. Donna looked over at him, smiling.

“You’re in a good mood,” she observed.

“Yeah. It was a good day.”

Donna narrowed her eyes at him. “I saw you talking to that Snart boy.”

“Mhmm.”

“Sara’s got a crush on him, so Felicity says.”

“Does she?” Quentin asked mildly.

Donna stared at him for a long, silent minute. “I’m sure you didn’t say anything to him about that.”

“Me? Not a chance.” Quentin smiled at the road. “Just trying to find a way to thank him for saving Sara when he did.”

Donna arched a brow, as clever as her daughter in such different ways. “And did you?”

“I think so.”


	24. Mistletoe and Captain Canary Secret Santa Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Canary Secret Santa 2020
> 
> For Dragonydreams!!
> 
> Prompts:  
> Community service, Holiday songs, Ugly sweaters, or Mistletoe. She would also love to recieve something that is NSFW.
> 
> I did it all. :)

Leonard wasn’t entirely surprised to hear a knock on his door this late in the afternoon. Taking another glance out his window, he watched the water running down, the rain that had started this morning not letting up at all throughout the day. With a smirk, he got to his feet, leaving his coffee on the table as he crossed his apartment and opened the door, leaning against the frame with an unsurprised:

“Lance.”

Sara Lance, the blonde woman who’d moved in across the hall two years ago who had apparently made it her mission to become friends, despite his best efforts, looked up at him in exasperation. She would drop off alcohol and knock on his door to play cards. She invited him over for parties and dinners, dragging him into a friendship that Leonard no longer had the energy to deny. Besides, she was fun to hang around, had great taste in booze, and it didn’t hurt that she was a sight to behold.

Her blue eyes were laughing at the moment, despite her expression, and she was wearing a large and terribly tacky sweater with a sheep and the words, ‘Baa Humbug’ knitted into it. So different from her usual t-shirts and leather jacket, it almost made him lose the smirk in favor of a real smile.

Almost.

“Snart,” she retorted in the same tone, crossing her arms.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he drawled, arching a brow at her.

Her attempt at a glare faltered, her lips quirking up. “You know damn well what. It’s pouring out there.”

“I noticed.” He glanced back over his shoulder, where he’d left the window open. For a moment, there was only the sound of heavy rain, and Sara let out a huff of laughter.

“You know what I’m going to ask,” she said.

“How could I possibly know what you’re going to ask?” When she just glared at him, he couldn’t resist. “Is it that I pointed out the downsides to you buying a motorcycle and now you’re paying the predictable and obvious consequences?”

“Yes, you ass,” Sara said, unable to stop smiling. “I need a ride to Ray’s stupid thing.”

He let out a sigh. “What an inconvenience.”

“You were already going,” she insisted.

“Was I, though?”

She pursed her lips at him, cocking her head, knowing that he definitely was going. Not that he had a choice. Raymond Palmer, their landlord and, non-optional, friend, had coerced all of them into helping with one of his other properties - a retirement home on the edge of town. All of their little group, Ray, Leonard, and Sara, in addition to Mick Rory, who owned the bar they frequented, John Constantine, whose work was still a secret to Leonard after three years of knowing him, Zari Tomaz, who worked for some government agency that prevented them from asking questions about it, Charlie, who had no last name and sometimes disappeared for weeks at a time, and Nate Heywood, Zari’s boyfriend and Ray’s partner in business.

Ray had used the bar to cater a dinner for the retirement home, with his friends (free labor) serving as servers and entertainment. It wasn’t Leonard’s first choice of activities for Christmas Eve, but Ray offered them free drinks for the weekend if they helped him out, and he was a sucker for Palmer’s puppy dog eyes, though he tried to keep it under wraps.

Still, he let out a sigh that didn’t convince her for a moment. “Fine, I suppose I could drive you, in my very sensible car.”

“Yeah, that’s you, Snart, so very sensible,” she said archly, crossing her arms.

He gave her a little smile and a roll of his eyes, well aware that the crucible of their friendship had developed when Sara had walked in on Leonard dealing with some unsavory former coworkers, who hadn’t responded favorably to Leonard’s witty sarcasm. He had it under control, mostly, but Sara jumped in with a well-placed quip and even better placed punch.

That had really sealed the friendship, and the other feelings he had for her. Blonde and a badass? Very much his type.

“Shut up, Lance. You ready?” he asked, grabbing his coat off of the back of the door.

They climbed down the six flights to the lobby of their apartment, then outside and around the corner to the complex’s parking lot. Leonard unlocked the doors, opening the passenger side for Sara.

She gave him one of her less common and softer smiles, and slid in. He walked around to the other side and got in, turning on the car as Sara adjusted the vents away from her, per usual. They started over to the retirement home, chatting about nothing and everything, per usual.

The two of them chatted more than Leonard had with anyone else, and him driving her to one of their friends’ places was so common that she had the extra key to his car, just in case she needed it. Though Mick was his oldest friend, Sara Lance was very close to being his best friend, not that he’d ever tell her. She’d never let him live it down.

Leonard let out an exhale as he parked the car, noticing the cars already there. Sara, having been here before, led him in through the side door and they were immediately set upon by Palmer and the others.

“Leonard! Sara! I’m so glad you made it,” Palmer said, grinning at Sara’s sweater and giving her finger guns.

Sara smiled at him and pressed the sheep, where it let out a mournful little,  _ “Baaaaa.” _

“Yes!” Ray said, laughing, Leonard just shook his head. He pouted when he looked at Leonard. “Come on, Snart.”

“I’ll pour soup, not wear tacky sweaters.”

“This way to the kitchen,” Sara said, talking over Ray as he started complaining. Taking Leonard’s arm, she pulled him towards the kitchen. Leonard didn’t mind.

Once they got on the gloves, they started serving some of the older folks with Mick, while Zari and John served those in wheelchairs and Ray and Nate dealt with drinks. Charlie was singing some Christmas carols as she wandered between the tables, but Leonard noticed she moved a little oddly, skipping between some of the tables. Looking up, he was amused at exactly how much mistletoe there was hanging from the ceiling. Now that he’d seen the plants, he saw that Zari was dodging pretty deftly between it, too, though she did get caught by Nate under one, sharing a quick kiss to which the folks eating cheered.

Scanning the room, Leonard clocked an old man with a roll of tape and a long cane moving mistletoe from place to place. John and Nate didn’t notice the shift, and got caught. 

“Gotta kiss!” shouted one of the women, her white hair done up in a faux-hawk.

Ray nodded, his expression amused, but sounding serious as he said, “You do have to, though. It’s bad luck if you don’t.”

“Yeah, but -”

Nate was cut off as John grabbed the back of his head and planted a kiss firmly on him. When John pulled away with a loud smack, Nate looked gobsmacked and Zari was laughing.

“Sorry, mate,” John said, “can’t take the chance. More water, anyone?”

Nate blinked a few times, and then began moving, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, as the man with the cane grinned and moved some more.

It was due to his focus that Leonard saw the man come back for seconds, and a quick shift of his hand over where Sara was standing. Putting his hand on Sara’s shoulder, Leonard tugged her back as she almost leaned under it, away from the mistletoe. Sara glanced at him, then followed his gaze up to the mistletoe. She grinned at the old man. “Nice try.”

“Spoilsport,” the old man said to Leonard.

Leonard smiled, but the man leveled a glare at him and walked away, snagging the mistletoe down again as he left. Leonard dropped the smile, frowning after him.

Sara looked at Leonard with wide eyes, then burst out laughing. “I think you’ve made an enemy.”

“I can outrun him.”

She laughed again, as Charlie came up and leaned halfway over the counter, “Sara, you sing, right?”

“Not really -”

“Close enough. Come on, I can’t keep going alone.”

Sara gave Leonard and Mick a look, peeling off her gloves and following Charlie out, the two of them starting a rendition of the ‘12 Days of Christmas.’ Leonard watched Sara move around the room, smiling at the guests, and avoiding mistletoe. She met his eyes and gave him a little grin, which Leonard returned. He heard a scoff and looked over to see Mick shaking his head.

“What?”

“Nothin’, boss.”

They had to clean up, so Mick and Leonard gave the rest of them a hand as Sara and Charlie kept singing, helping out when they could. Leonard kept an eye on the man with the mistletoe, avoiding it despite the man’s best efforts. The people they were serving gave them all hugs and thank yous, Ray and Charlie getting caught under the mistletoe on the way out.

Though it was late, the group of them went back to the bar for a drink or two, making good on Ray’s offer to drink for free. Eventually, though, the day started to catch up to each of them, and Leonard and Sara were the first ones to get up to leave.

“Sara,” Zari said, looking at the still-pouring rain, “you can’t ride your bike home.”

“I’m not,” Sara said. “Len’s giving me a ride.”

“Because who would have thought that a motorcycle was a poorly thought out purchase,” Leonard said, getting a roll of Sara’s eyes in return and a grin from Mick and Ray, who had been there for the first few arguments about the motorcycle.

“Goodnight,” Sara told them all, then started towards the door. She went out, the bells above the frame chiming, but sounding a little off. She held the door for Leonard, who was about to step through when -

He stopped and took a step back, looking at the mistletoe above her. He cut a glare back at Ray, who gave a visible sigh of frustration. Waving for Sara to go on ahead, Leonard made sure she was out the door before he stepped through, letting it close behind him.

“Nice try, Palmer,” Mick said, once the two of them were gone.

“I thought I had them.” Ray was clearly disappointed.

“We’ll try again tomorrow,” Zari soothed.

* * *

Sara skidded in through the door, holding it open for Leonard, who jogged in after her, water streaming off his coat and the ends of her hair. The storm had gotten worse, lightning lighting up the sky and thunder nearly rattling the walls. Grinning, Sara squeezed out the ends of her hair, then fished her keys out of her pocket and went to the mailboxes, hearing Leonard follow her. There was an extra key on top of the usual bills and she unlocked one of the parcel boxes to find a large box from her sister.

She lifted it out and swore as the weight hit her, “Holy shit, Laurel.”

Leonard grinned at her, tucking his mail into his back pocket. “Need a hand?”

“No, I’ll just take the elevator,” Sara said, hefting it over to the ancient elevator. She rarely used it, the jog up the steps sometimes the only workout she got each day, but she’d been up and down the stairs several times today, and the box was really heavy.

Leonard followed her in and pressed the button for their floor. The doors creaked closed slowly, and Sara put the box down rather than hold it the whole way up.

“What’s in there?”

“No idea. Last year, it was a full case of wine, but this feels heavier,” Sara said. She took out the knife she had in her pocket and undid the top. “Oh, it’s like a bar box.” She saw a bottle of rum, some mixers, fruit sealed in baggies, and a list of instructions. She tucked the flap closed, looking forward to breaking into that rum later, but now she let out a sigh and rolled her head on her neck, her shoulders a little sore. Leonard was leaning against the railing, watching the numbers for the floor light up ever so slowly.

Since he was distracted, Sara allowed herself to indulge in looking at him, if only for a moment. The tight jeans were always a plus, and the dark sweaters he wore brought out the blue in his eyes which were -

Looking at her.

Sara just smiled, not bothering to hide it. Flirting was her go to move for most interactions, and she’d never really had a problem. Except when it came to Leonard. Since they’d been jokingly flirting the whole time they’d known one another, trying to make it clear she wasn’t joking anymore was proving to be much more difficult than she expected. But, she’d nursed her crush on Leonard for almost two years already, she could manage. Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Sara froze.

“No way.”

She stared at the little piece of mistletoe, right above the elevator door, mocking them.

“Huh,” he said after a moment. “I didn’t see that.”

“Me neither,” Sara said. She glanced at him, then lowered her eyes after a minute. “We can just pretend we didn’t see it.”

“Not afraid of Ray’s curse of bad luck?” he asked her, smirking.

“Hardly. You?”

“Takes more than a piece of greenery to scare -”

There was a massive crash of thunder that interrupted him, making them both look up. The elevator screeched and shuddered beneath them, stuttering to an unexpected and ungraceful halt that knocked both of them off balance. Sara caught herself on the small railing and though Leonard stumbled he didn’t fall. The alarm bell was ringing in the elevator, but he reached over and switched it off.

“What happened?” Sara asked.

“Dunno. Could be a faulty wire or the -”

The lights went out, leaving just the golden yellow glow of the emergency light in the corner.

“Power?” Sara finished with a quiet laugh.

“Great.”

Sara reached into her pocket and saw that her phone had no service, which wasn’t very surprising. She tucked it away, putting the rest of her mail on the package. “So, now what?”

“We wait, I suppose. Until the power comes back on.”

“Which could be a while.”

Leonard didn’t answer that. He leaned on the opposite side of the elevator, looking at her.

When the power didn’t come on for a few minutes, Sara glanced at the mistletoe and suddenly chuckled.

“What?”

“You don’t think this is our bad luck, do you?”

Leonard looked up at the mistletoe with a frown. “I think it’s an unfortunate coincidence.”

“Not a big believer in luck?” she countered.

“No.”

Well, no time like the present. Sara pushed away from the wall and took a step towards the middle of the elevator. “How about you put your money where your...mouth is?”

Leonard smirked at her, straightening up, but not moving just yet. “Is that a challenge, Lance?”

“Absolutely.”

“You know I never back down from a challenge.” He took a step nearer.

“The things you’ll do to prove Ray wrong.” She moved closer.

Though Leonard chuckled, his eyes were intent on hers. They were merely inches apart now, in the center of the broken elevator. Leonard’s gaze shifted down, and Sara went up on her toes.

His lips were soft against hers, and so very warm. Nothing but their mouths were touching, but she felt so close to him. It was sweet and short, just the barest hint of his tongue before he broke it. But he didn’t move away.

They were frozen there for a moment, the smiles and joking manner gone. Sara opened her eyes, staring up into his dark gaze, looking just as startled as she felt. She exhaled shakily and he took in a slow breath.

Then there weren’t any words.

Leonard wove his fingers into her hair, cradling the back of her skull as he pulled her back towards him, and Sara’s hands grabbed his collar, pressing the length of her body against his. This time, there was far less sweet, it was an open-mouthed, panting breath kind of kiss, Leonard’s free hand going to the small of her back to keep her pressed against him. Sara nipped at his lip and Leonard let out a noise that could only be called a growl, pulling her roughly against him -

_ “Baaaaa.” _

Leonard froze and Sara went still, before she burst into a laugh at her sweater’s shitty timing.

“Fucking Ray and his stupid sweaters,” Leonard said, his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile.

Sara grinned at him, but the moment appeared to be ruined, and he loosened his hold on her, taking a breath.

“Look, Lance,” Leonard said quietly. “I’m not looking for just a fling. Not with you. All or nothing.”

The fact that he still had his arms around her, albeit not as tightly, made Sara bolder than she might have been. “I’m looking for all, Snart. Have been for about two years.”

He stared at her, as if gauging her sincerity, then chuckled. “Talk about wasted time.”

Sara gave a nonchalant shrug, and leaned back out of his grip slightly. She grabbed the edges of her sweater, tugging it off over her head and tossing it over towards the package. Leonard seemed more than a little stunned and Sara stepped back into his space, his arms coming up around her automatically. 

“Let’s start making up for it.”

Sara grabbed his collar and pulled him down, this kiss even hotter than the second one, the perfect mix of lips and teeth, scraping and soothing. Leonard walked her back without breaking the kiss, until her hip bumped against the low railing, then seemed to loom over her, surrounding her, his hands moving up her back and into her hair, his knee nudging between hers, his mouth pressing hot kisses against her jaw and neck. Thunder rumbled around them again, sending a delightful shiver down her spine. Sliding her hands up the front of his sweater, she felt his muscles twitch beneath her fingers, faint scars revealed under the pads of her fingers.

“No cameras in here, right?” she asked breathlessly.

Leonard pulled away from her long enough to give her a small chuckle. “Nah, I disconnected that years ago.”

“Good.” She pushed his coat off his shoulders, then pulled his sweater up and out of the way. Stepping back just far enough to get it off, Leonard let it fall on top of the box in the corner, then gathered her in his arms again, kissing her. His tongue swept into her mouth, leaving traces of peppermint and bourbon in its wake. Sara kissed him back hard, her hands going for the button on his pants, then cursing the tightness of them.

“Seriously?” she hissed, breaking away enough to look down.

He grinned. “You like them.”

Sara didn’t bother arguing with that. He was right.

Leonard stilled her hands for a moment. “You sure?”

She took a moment to kiss him again, slower than before. “Never more sure.”

She smiled up at him, waiting until his eyes cleared, then the two of them got his jeans low enough that they sagged around his hips. Sara wriggled out of her own jeans, and Leonard grabbed her hips the second she was free, lifting her up and pinning her against the wall with his body. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, the surge of want making all other conversation unnecessary. She trusted him, and he trusted her.

Leonard’s breath punched out of him as he entered her, while Sara didn’t feel like she was breathing at all. For a moment, they were still, eyes locked.

Then Sara grinned and Leonard let out a little, disbelieving laugh before dipping down to kiss her again. Sara sank into the kiss, her eyes closing as Leonard began to move with steady, sure thrusts. The angle and pressure were almost perfect, and she shifted slightly, Leonard adjusting, and - ah, there it was.

She clung to his shoulders, knowing that it wasn’t going to take long for her, and not for him either, if the way his hands were tightening was any indication. Grabbing his face, Sara kissed him deeply, catching his moan between her lips. Gasping into his mouth, Sara felt the edge approaching, and Leonard moved his hips just so -

Thunder crashed around them again, though Sara wasn’t certain that the Earth didn’t move. Her cry echoed around the small elevator box, Leonard’s lost in the second rumble of thunder.

Sara ran her fingers down his neck as he leaned against her shoulder for a moment. Then he looked at her, his mouth turning up into a smile again. Sara grinned back at him, kissing him.

“If I’d realized that was gonna happen, maybe I would've used mistletoe earlier,” she murmured.

“Maybe you should have.” Leonard let out a chuckle, disentangling them and sorting out their clothes. Sara shimmied back into her pants and Leonard tossed her sweater at her. Sara pulled it back on, seeing Leonard watching her as her head reappeared.

“What?”

He didn’t answer. He just leaned down to kiss her again. Sara was nearly humming with happiness. When he pulled back, he looked at the still elevator doors. Then he grabbed his jacket and spread it out on the floor, next to the wall. He sat down, holding out his hand for her to join him. Sara did, but grabbed the bottle of rum Laurel had sent her before settling next to him. Leonard wrapped his arm around her shoulders and Sara leaned into his side.

She took a sip of the rum and passed it to him. Leonard took a small sip and returned it, then pressed his lips to her hair.

“Not exactly how I imagined spending Christmas Eve,” he said quietly.

“Me neither,” Sara agreed. “But I’m glad.”

“Me too.” He pulled her a little nearer.

Sara put the rum off to the side, turning to kiss Leonard again. “Merry Christmas.”

He smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

Leonard deepened the kiss, pulling her closer and -

_ “Baaaaa.” _


	25. Christmas Proposal - Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 25: Christmas Proposal - Madness
> 
> No joke, I started writing this way early in November and only finished it a few days ago. It had to be perfect. This is top 2 of my fave AU’s with Granted, so I had to do it justice. It was re-written like 6 times.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me for a year and a month with this fic. It was truly fun to write, and if I do another one, I’ll know to start it a hell of a lot earlier. 
> 
> Happy holidays to all and to all a good night.

Leonard's phone rang and he knew who it was immediately. Not because he had caller ID, which he did, and saw the name, which he didn't as it was in his pocket, but because as the call came through, it wasn't his normal, standard ringtone, but a song that burst forth:

> _ Blastmaster racks the ground _
> 
> _ Bent on survival _
> 
> _ Full throttle hammers down _
> 
> _ A deadly scream _
> 
> _ All guns, all guns blazing _

That was a new one. Usually, the songs she picked were ones to embarrass him. He still vividly remembered the time she'd set the ringtone to be something called "Closer" and called him when he was fifteen feet away from her, talking to the opposing counsel on a case. That had been a true test of his ability to keep a straight face.

Now, however, he was alone in their apartment, working on a backlog of paperwork and all too ready for a distraction. Picking it up with an automatic grin, he sat back in his chair and said, "Lance, one of these days I'm going to change your phone and we'll really have a- "

_ "Boss." _

Leonard sat up, the humor slipping out of him instantly, leaving nothing but a bone-deep dread in its place. Because if Mick was calling him from Sara's phone at eleven at night, then -

"Sara?" he asked, unable to get out any more than that.

_ "Alive and in surgery." _

“Where?” He got to his feet grabbing his keys and his wallet and his coat and halfway out the door before Mick finished answering, letting it slam shut behind him.

_ “C.C. General. She’s still in surgery. Just called so you wouldn’t go crazy not hearin’ from her. You don’t have to -” _

“I’m not staying here,” Leonard snarled into the phone. “Where are you?”

Mick didn’t seem surprised at his answer. _ “ICU Ward. Gideon and the rest of the team are here, too. They know a doc here.” _

He didn’t bother with the elevator. It would take too long. He jogged down the stairs, all the way to the front door, and ignored Peter as he held the door open. He got into his car and started the engine.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

_ “Snart -” _

Leonard hung up, the tires peeling out as he tore down the road towards Central City General Hospital, ignoring all the signs and lights, his mind fixated on just this morning.

_ “I’m gonna be out late tonight,” Sara said as he finished in the bathroom. _

_ “Job wrapping up?” he asked, straightening his tie before stepping out into their bedroom. Sara was seated on the edge of it, already dressed, much to his dismay, and leaning back on her hands. She grinned at him, her hair loose and her black leather jacket resting on the bed beside her. Not even the December snows could make her wear anything warmer. _

_ “Yeah,” she said. “Got the fucker right where we want him. Thawne isn’t getting out of it. Even Gideon said it was a good plan, and you know she usually hates my plans.” _

_ “Zari going with you?” Leonard asked. _

_ “Yeah, yeah, you insufferable ass.” She rolled her eyes, no actual heat behind the words. “Mick and Amaya are coming, too, I’m gonna wear the kevlar, and I’ve got a plan. I’m doing every little thing right this time. I’m even listening to Rip’s asinine suggestions.” _

_ He knew she was. Since they’d closed his case and Sara had recovered with only minor scarring, which was a miracle in and of itself, she’d been much better about planning, rather than running in blind. Rip even had her leading some missions, which had made some changes in her methods, too. Giving her responsibility had been the best way to make Sara watch out for herself, because she had to watch out for the rest of her team, far more than she had before. Sometimes reckless moves were necessary, but in the past year and half, it had only happened three times, with no significant injuries to anyone at Legendary Security.  _

_ “And will you listen if I asked you to be careful?” Leonard stood in front of her. _

_ Sara quirked her lips at him. “Depends on how convincing you are, hotshot.” _

_ He leaned down, kissing that smirk off of her mouth, his fingers feeling the scars along her neck and jaw from close calls. If it got a little more heated than he meant it to, neither of them seemed to mind. He pulled away, resting his forehead on hers, leaving his eyes closed. _

_ “I’ll be careful,” Sara agreed, a little breathless. _

_ “You better be, or I’ll make you regret it.” He straightened up, fixing the tie that had once again gone crooked. _

_ She laughed, getting to her feet and grabbing her jacket. “Promises, promises.” _

Leonard’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. He took the first spot he found, nearly running into the ICU Ward. He looked up at the hospital windows, unable to help but remember the first time he’d seen her.

_ Staring at that brat in his hospital room, her rough and vulgar voice telling him how incapable he was, that he needed her when all Leonard wanted to do was leave all of them behind and just go about this the same damn way he’d always done it - alone. But she snapped right back at him, not backing down like everyone else did when he lost his temper. _

_ “Who do you think you are?” he asked her, condescension dripping off his voice, the mere tone which had garnered no less than sixteen confessions.  _

_ But the blonde gave him a withering smile, unmoved. “I’m Sara fucking Lance, your personal protection service. Can’t wait to work with you, Snart.” _

Leonard shook the memories free as he pushed through the doors of the ICU, seeing the desk up ahead. He was three steps in before he heard -

“Mr. Snart.”

He turned, seeing Gideon getting to her feet, in her customary skirt and blouse. There was no fooling him, though. He’d seen her in tactical gear, firing a gun without so much as a hair out of place. He’d seen her tearing down a potential client for not giving the Legends all the information they needed. He’d seen her teasing Rip Hunter and throwing back shots with an ease that didn’t surprise him anymore. He’d say that they were friends, all too used to rolling their eyes at the antics of the people they cared about, knowing that neither one of them really meant it. But right now, none of that mattered.

“Sara?” he asked.

“She’s still in surgery,” Gideon said. Despite her put-together appearance, Leonard recognized the lines by her eyes. “Dr. Snow is the best surgeon in this half of this country.”

“Can I see her?”

“Not yet,” Gideon said. She put her hand on his arm, but Leonard shrugged it away as gently as he could. She didn’t seem to take offense, leading him back to the waiting room at the side. Leonard saw Amaya half-asleep in one of the chairs, her face dirtied and a bandage on her arm. Mick was there, too, nodding at Leonard, but not getting up, as Amaya was leaning on him. Rip got to his feet and reached out his hand for Leonard to shake, which he did absentmindedly. Ray was there, staring at his phone, but the screen was dark and his eyes were unfocused.

Leonard took a seat by Mick because there wasn’t anything else to do. He couldn’t think ahead, couldn’t plan anything. There was this sense of disconnect from everything else, like it wasn’t really happening. Like this was just another nightmare.

But it wasn’t.

“What happened?” he asked, barely recognizing his hoarse voice. He could feel the beginnings of a panic attack, the disassociation, the faster heartbeat, but he ignored it, squeezing the arms of the chair until it hurt, grounding himself as much as he could.

“Ms. Lance executed the plan perfectly. Ms. Tomaz and Mr. Heywood are escorting Mr. Thawne to prison as we speak,” Gideon said, her hands clasped in her lap. Leonard noted her white knuckles. “She was doing a final sweep to make sure we got all of his men before letting the police in to gather their evidence. There was a loose panel on the catwalk and she f-fell,” Gideon’s voice cracked and she cleared it. “It was almost a two-story drop onto some crates. Ms. Lance managed to turn midair, hitting the crates on her shoulder instead of her head. Some of them broke and went…”

Gideon stopped and cleared her throat again, but didn’t seem able to finish. Leonard looked at Mick.

“Couple of the boards went through her arm. She was conscious when we got to her, cursing up a storm, passed out before we got here. She lost a lot of blood but went right into surgery. Doc seemed hopeful,” Mick said, his voice blunt.

“How long has she been back there?”

“Just under an hour.”

Leonard nodded and fixed his eyes on the doors. Rip tried to talk to him, but he didn’t answer the first few times, and Hunter gave up.

Another hour passed without anything happening. Mick had succumbed to sleep, too, exhaustion pulling at his shoulders. Rip’s eyes were closed, but Leonard wasn’t certain he was sleeping. Gideon never moved from her position, straight-backed, ankles crossed, eyes on the door. Ray put his phone away and didn’t speak to anyone as he got up to go to the restroom. His face was wet when he came back, but no one commented. Nate and Zari returned, took one look at the group, and disappeared again, coming back with coffee and sandwiches. Leonard took a coffee.

_ He stepped out of his apartment, nearly bowling over someone in the door. “Excuse me, I-” He cut himself off as he saw the pain in the ass blonde from the hospital standing in front of him. “Dammit, I thought-” _

_ “That I’d forget?” She grinned, her eyes dancing as she shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint. Coffee?” She handed him a tall cup, which he took after a moment. _

_ “What’s this for?” he asked suspiciously. _

_ “I stopped for my own. Made a guess that you like it black, ‘cause you seem fucking straightlaced like that.” She grinned at him again, her eyes appraising as he took a sip. “Thought so. Don’t get used to it,” she warned, but there was a smile beneath it. _

The doors back to the ward swung open, and a young woman in a doctor’s coat stepped out, her face already drawn in a tired smile.

“I’m Dr. Snow. You’re all here for Sara?”

Leonard got to his feet, unintentionally waking Mick in the process. He shook Amaya awake and she opened her eyes immediately as if she hadn’t been sleeping at all. Gideon got to her feet, putting her arm on Rip’s shoulder and not removing it. Zari and Nate tensed, stopping their whispered conversation. The doctor looked at Gideon, then at Leonard.

“Is she -” Leonard started, but he couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Sara’s fine,” the doctor said, her voice low and gentle. “She severed an artery and lost a lot of blood. There’s a sprain in her shoulder, but miraculously, nothing was broken. She’ll make a complete recovery.”

The relief in the room was palpable, Ray covered his face and let out a little laugh, and Mick smiled, squeezing Amaya’s hand.

Leonard believed the doctor, he did, but he also knew that he wouldn’t truly know it until he could verify it with his own eyes. “Can I see her?”

“Are you her husband? Or family?” Snow asked quietly.

Leonard hesitated and Caitlin gave him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, only immediate family can go into the ICU due to -”

“Caitlin,” Gideon said, getting to her feet. “Can I speak to you?”

Gideon stepped back with the doctor, their voices too low to hear. Leonard waited, but he knew that no matter what the doctor said, he was getting back there. There was a keycard right on the desk and a doctor’s coat on that chair. All he’d need to do was -

“Mr. Snart?” Gideon said, gesturing him over.

He approached them, and the doctor smiled at him. “We’ll make an exception. You can stay the night if you wish. She’s in a private room.”

Leonard nodded, already taking a step with the doctor before he looked at Gideon.

“Go, Mr. Snart. Tell her we all wish her a speedy recovery. Call if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

She nodded and Leonard saw a sheen of tears in her eye. “Of course, Mr. Snart.”

Dr. Snow led him past the secure door, using her keycard, and into the ward. The bulletin boards along the way were decorated with snowflakes and stockings, faint music playing from the nurse’s station that sat at the center of the ward, short hallways shooting off of it. Dr. Snow walked down one of them and opened a door at the back.

Leonard held his breath as he walked in, hearing the abrasive beeping of monitors and computers as they charted her breathing and heart rate. Dr. Snow went to the computer and pressed a few buttons, making them quiet, though he could still see the screens monitoring everything. And in the bed -

“She’ll be groggy as she comes out of the anesthesia, but that won't be for a while yet. If you need anything -” Dr. Snow said.

“Thanks,” he said, not paying her any attention. Dr. Snow didn’t seem to take any offense, but left, shutting the door behind her.

Leonard moved over to the bedside. Sara’s eyes were closed and her hair still had a few small streaks of red in it, though it was clear they’d cleaned her up. Her left shoulder was bandaged and there was an IV of fluids feeding into her arm. There was a bruise on her cheek and a spot of blood on her lips. Looking for a chair, he saw her boots sitting by a plastic bag under the window with her other clothes.

Going over to grab the chair, he dragged the bag back with him, seeing a familiar sleeve poking out. Settling in beside her, Leonard took Sara’s hand, the one without the IV. Her skin was still a little cold, but she was also too still. His assassin was always moving, teasing, laughing. Not this.

Looking for a distraction, he reached into the bag one-handed and pulled out the leather jacket she’d left with this morning. The left sleeve was completely tattered and still tacky with dried blood. Staring at his fingers, he saw a faint smear of red. He felt the pressure behind his eyes, the tightness in his throat that he hadn’t allowed until he knew - but now -

Clutching the destroyed jacket in one hand and clasping Sara’s still one in his other, Leonard sat alone in the silent hospital room and reevaluated his life.

* * *

“Here, let me help -”

“Ray,” Sara bit out through gritted teeth. “If you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to slam your head into this countertop repeatedly.”

Frowning at her, Ray stepped back. “I’m just trying to help.”

Sara closed her eyes and tried counting to five. When she was still pissed, she tried ten, but that didn’t help either. Her shoulder  _ did  _ hurt, but letting everyone else do everything for her was not something she was good at. Technically, she shouldn’t have come in the past three days, but things at home were -

“You’re still hurt, I just -”

“I know,” she interrupted curtly. Then she exhaled and tried again. “I know. But I can get a cup of this shitballs coffee without someone jumping up their own ass to try and do it for me.”

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Mick said, leaning against the counter.

“Go shit yourself, Rory,” Sara snapped as she poured her coffee.

“Ms. Lance,” Gideon chided, coming in with a stack of files. “Might I remind you as acting captain of this little crew, a little decorum goes a long way?”

Right. Because Rip was out building up Legends’ reputation, he’d made her start taking over some of the day to day bullshit for some godforsaken reason. So Sara ran a few missions and okayed some purchases, and met with prospective clients, and - her least favorite - led the weekly meetings.

Sara lifted her coffee with her good arm and turned to look at Mick. “Fine.  _ Please  _ go shit yourself.”

Gideon let out a sigh, but Mick laughed and it dissolved some of Sara’s tension. Zari, Nate, and Amaya came in just in time for the meeting to start.

Sara didn’t bother getting up. She didn’t usually, but no one (Gideon) was giving her a dirty look for not doing so today. It was only a week after her fall, which she was still stewing in embarrassment over. She was just glad Rip couldn’t make the meeting today because she was certain some lecture was coming from him and she was not in the mood.

“Thawne’s in custody, and the court’s throwing everything at him. Murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, forgery, the list goes on,” Sara said, flipping through the disposition. “With everything we got from the warehouse, it should be open and shut.”

“Especially with our best guy, Captain Cold, on it,” Ray said with a smile. Zari and Mick laughed; Leonard had developed a bit of a reputation for putting away so many criminals in the past year, that the media had dubbed him Captain Cold for how composed he remained in the courtroom. It was a running joke with the Legends, which Leonard played into when he could. He’d even gone so far as to wear a parka to one of the higher-profile cases, which the media had eaten up. He’d obviously won the case.

Sara gave him a small smile for that, ignoring the spike of tension that went through her stomach. “Amaya’s protection job just cleaned up, too. Astra’s stalker has been taken into custody on an unrelated assault charge, so she can press charges against him now that he’s not on the run. Nate and Zari’s police collaboration has been going well, from all accounts, except one complaint from that shitgibbon, Doyle, and no one cares about him.”

Gideon shook her head at Sara’s editorials, but didn’t speak up.

“Overall, we’re ending the year on an upswing. A few smaller open cases, but nothing new has come across the desk since yesterday, so I think it’s gonna be a happy fucking Christmas.”

Ray immediately knocked on wood, which Sara rolled her eyes at. Though she then silently knocked against the underside of the table, out of sight.

Gideon had a few housekeeping things to add - a request for Mick’s receipts, again, and another reminder that any shots taken had to be logged - this was directed towards Sara - so she could order the appropriate ammunition.

“And last,” Sara said, looking at the agenda though she knew full well what it said, “Ray wanted to remind you about -”

“The Christmas Eve Party tomorrow!”

Sara rolled her eyes as Ray began talking, listing the food, the decoration, the entertainment -

“Wait, so what do we have to do?” Zari asked, interrupting him.

“Oh,” Ray said, with a surprised smile. “You just have to show up.”

“Great,” Zari said, getting to her feet. “So, we’re done?”

“We’re done,” Sara confirmed, gathering her papers together. “Have a great day and get the fuck out.”

She lingered over the papers, Ray leaving as he chatted with Nate excitedly about the party. Sara had been looking forward to the party, but now -

The door closed and Sara looked up, seeing Gideon and Zari still inside the room.

“What’s up?” Sara asked, looking away as she gathered the papers, hoping they wouldn’t see her wince. She pushed herself too hard today.

“What’s your problem?” Zari asked bluntly. “You’re usually a pain, but the past couple days, you’ve been awful.”

“Is everything okay?” Gideon questioned, a little kinder.

Was everything okay?

Fuck no.

Things hadn’t been okay since she woke up in the hospital, Len at her side looking like he hadn’t slept in a week. Everything about getting discharged had been a blur. She’d been okay, her arm was sore, but she was going to recover completely. The doc had even said it would barely scar, which was awesome. But Len hadn’t seemed all that happy to be heading home. He barely spoke in the car, both hands on the steering wheel.

“You okay, hotshot?” Sara said with a smile.

“I’m fine.”

She’d believed him, even if she felt the need to look at him a bit more often, just to be sure. When they got home, she’d figured they’d have a rerun of the last hospital stay, where he was on her before she got all the way through the door. Instead, he’d given her a single, mildly distracted kiss and gone to work on his computer, leaving her more than a little stunned in the hallway.

Since she’d gotten home, he’d been busier than usual. Coming to bed after she was asleep and out before she was up. He stayed at the office longer and was on his phone. Three days ago, when she’d tried to talk to him about it, she’d caught a glimpse of his computer screen and it was the workload of Legendary Security, but redistributed without her on active missions.

He wanted her to quit.

And, fuck, it’s not like she could blame him. She’d nearly died, again, and that was something that stuck with her. How could he want a relationship with someone who casually risked death often? On the other hand, she’d been taking more precautions, all of them had, and this was the first significant injury to one of their team in over a year. Those were some good odds. She loved her job. She loved the Legends. She didn’t think she’d ever give it up for anyone -

But,  _ Leonard _ .

If he asked, she’d do it. She’d hate it and might grow to resent him, but she’d do it. The only thing that mattered to her more than Legends was Len. If he asked…

She just prayed he didn’t.

So the past few days, it was like the two of them had been avoiding each other equally, other than an agreement to go to Ray’s party. Sara hated it, hated feeling this way, but she wouldn’t bring it up, if only to delay the inevitable.

“Everything’s fine,” she told them.

Zari stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged. “If you say so. See you tomorrow?”

“Yup,” Sara said.

Gideon’s eyes were narrowed. “Are you certain everything is alright?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because I haven’t seen much of Mr. Snart around the building lately. Is he alright?”

“Len’s fine,” Sara said, pointedly moving to the door. “Excuse me.”

Stepping aside, Gideon watched her. “Ms. Lance.”

Sara stopped and looked back.

“You realize that Mr. Snart loves you very much.”

“I know,” Sara said quietly. That was part of the problem.

“And so do we.”

“I know,” she repeated. That was the other part.

* * *

Leonard took special care with his clothes for Ray’s Christmas Eve Party. His blue suit, which had been cleaned and repaired after the car bomb that had nearly killed both of them, was his specific choice for tonight. He checked his pockets for the dozenth time, the door to the bathroom swinging open.

Sara stepped out, her hair loose and the burgundy dress making it look like molten gold over her shoulders, conveniently hiding the bandage from her fall. Leonard watched her sit on the bed to put on her high heels, and adjust the knives in her thigh sheath. The memory brought back the first night they’d danced when he had become more than just a job and Sara had become more than just his bodyguard.

He realized that he felt a hint of nostalgia, which was absurd, considering how close they came to death. But those had also been some of the best moments of his life, between all the chaos.

It had brought him to her.

She got to her feet and looked at him, her eyes a little closed off. It had been a rough week for both of them. Leonard was distracted with Rip’s demands on his time, which he had a personal stake in, too. And his actual job as prosecutor. And worrying about Sara’s dogged determination to recover faster than any human body should. But tonight -

Tonight things would change.

So distracted with everything, Leonard took his hand out of his pocket as he realized Sara was staring at him, her eyes suspiciously shiny.

“You okay?” Leonard asked, taking a step forward. “You’re not hurting, are you?”

She blinked and sniffed. “No. I’m good.”

“You sure?” he asked, coming a little closer, and cupping her cheek. He tried to search her expression, but all he could read was a little exhaustion. “We don’t have to go.”

“I’m sure,” she told him. She leaned into his hand a little. “I just...”

Leonard waited for her to finish her sentence, but she swallowed and shook her head a little. She lifted her eyes to his, then rocked forward on her toes, pressing her mouth to his.

Surprised, but not at all unwilling, Leonard kissed her back. When he made to pull back, though, Sara’s arms went around his neck, holding him just a little too tightly. She keened slightly in the back of her throat and Leonard put his hands on her waist, supporting her, delving deeper, which Sara obviously enjoyed.

She broke the kiss eventually. Leonard left his eyes closed for a moment, taking a deep breath and seriously reconsidering their RSVP to the party. He opened his eyes to see Sara looking at him, something still unreadable in her eyes.

But she smoothed her hand over his tie, giving it a little tug. “I love you.”

His mouth lifted in a smile. “I love you, too. So much.”

They went downstairs, hand in hand, taking his car. He had to be very careful, every shift noted by Sara as she glanced over at him. Eventually, he gave his hand something to do, reaching across the seat to take hers. Sara squeezed it back tightly, her eyes turned to the window.

They parked in front of Legendary Security, the lot almost empty. This party was just for the employees and very close friends, a small, but upscale event, said Palmer. Getting out of the car, Leonard went and opened the door for Sara, which she uncharacteristically allowed, almost surprised when the door swung open.

She took his hand, and they walked to the main doors, Leonard flashing his own security card to get through. The lobby was empty, music playing quietly as the click of Sara’s shoes echoed in the room. Making their way to the elevator, she pressed the button for the roof and the doors closed.

He didn’t know if it was normal to have a favorite elevator, but he did. This elevator, where the two of them both seemed to realize what was happening, where things almost happened. It was such a small, transitory point in their lives, but as Leonard glanced over at Sara, he decided to throw the plan away.

He turned towards her and took a breath, “Lance?”

She didn’t look at him, but he saw her jaw jump as she stared forward. “Yeah.”

Not ideal, but he took a step closer. “I’ve got something to tell you. Ask you.”

Sara took a long breath, her eyes flickering over towards him before turning forward again. “I figured.”

This felt off. Something wasn’t right. “Sara -”

“I know what you’re going to ask,” she said, staring straight ahead.

She did? Why did she seem so upset then? “You do?”

“Yeah. And I’ll do it if you ask, but please...just don’t fucking ask.”

He wasn’t sure he heard her right, and he pulled his hand out of his pocket, empty-handed. “What?”

* * *

The elevator dinged open and Sara stepped out before the doors were fully open, hoping to lose herself in the open bar or the dance floor and maybe put off this conversation for just a few hours more, where she could pretend her life was still perfect -

“Sara,” Leonard called after her. He caught up and grabbed her good arm. “Sara, wait.”

She turned, ignoring the looks of her friends as they stared between the two of them. The party was small enough that this was already a scene. Zari was standing up from where she was talking to Nate, Amaya and Mick were turning towards them. Rip and Gideon were on the opposite side, between Ray and Ray’s girlfriend, Nora. Felicity and Oliver, from Arrow’s company, were here, as well as some of Leonard’s friends from the court system - Detective West and a CSI tech named Barry Allen. She even vaguely recognized Dr. Snow, with some tall man standing next to her.

Sara pulled out of Leonard’s grip and let her shoulders drop.

“I thought you’d be happy,” Leonard said, his voice edging between anger and hurt, as he fought to keep it quiet and private, despite the eyes on them.

“You’re joking,” Sara scoffed, ignoring the whispers starting around them.

“I’m not laughing,” Leonard said, the anger winning out.

“How would leaving the Legends make me happy?!”

In the silence that followed, no one moved, except for Mick, who let out a single loud back of laughter, before Amaya hit his shoulder to make him be quiet. Leonard stared at her, open-mouthed for a moment. Then he let out a disbelieving laugh and shook his head. He looked down at the ground and then took a breath, moving towards her.

“First of all,” he said, raising a finger, “this is nothing like what I had in mind for this. So remember that, sweetheart. Second, since when have I ever had a problem with you working at Legends? Any other job would be a waste of your skills, and I’ve said that before. Third, that wasn’t what I was asking.”

“Then what the hell has been your problem since the fall? You’ve been shady as fuck and avoiding me -”

“You nearly died, Lance,” he interrupted fiercely.  _ “That _ was my problem. You nearly died and I almost wasn’t able to see you. If it weren’t for Gideon, I’d have been stuck out in the lounge with Palmer.”

“Standing right here, bud.”

“Not the time, Palmer,” Mick muttered.

“I’m sorry I scared you, but the fall was a fucking freak accident! I did everything right, so don’t make me choose between Legends and you, because I love both -”

“I know that,” Leonard interrupted, the anger dropping away immediately as he took another step towards her. “And if you listen to me for two damn seconds, you’ll hear me when I say I will never ask you to quit Legends. Never.”

Sara swallowed, hope blooming in her chest at the possibility that the life she’d chosen wasn’t ending. “Then what are you asking?”

Leonard let out a frustrated laugh, running his hand over his head. “I’m asking you to marry me.”

Sara took a breath.

Blinked.

“What?”

Leonard reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring, no box. Just a simple, white band with three uncut diamonds set into it. Sara looked at it for just a second, then looked up at Leonard.

The irritation was gone, only a mild discomfort on his features as this clearly wasn’t what he’d planned. But he took a step closer and Sara didn’t move away.

“You didn’t just save my life, Lance,” he said quietly, meant for her ears only. “You gave me a life, everything worthwhile I have is because of you. And I want to spend my life with you. Even if you jump to conclusions and fall off buildings.”

She let out a little laugh, hating how broken it sounded, but it made him smile, just a bit, his blue eyes intent on her, ignoring everything around them, their friends, the lights, the faintly falling snow, all of it.

“I love you. Exactly as you are. Marry me, Sara.”

Sara stared at him for another second, trying to figure out if this was some sort of involved, fever-dream because of that damn concussion. But she could feel the bite of the cold air, snowflakes landing on her hair and eyelashes as she stared up at the man who had changed her life, with his arrogance and pride and devotion to putting criminals away and his laugh and his heart and -

She ignored the ring, grabbing his coat and lifting herself onto her toes to kiss him, not even feeling the chill of the snow as his arms went around her. She felt him smile against her lips, holding her close. Distantly, she could hear the cheers and chatter of the team around her, but she didn’t care.

He didn’t want her to choose. She could have both. All. Her mind was spinning between the extremes of emotions, but she knew that this was right. Leonard pulled away after a second, his eyes dancing and clear and so obviously happy.

“That a yes?” he murmured, and she could hear the joy in his voice, even if he tried to cover it with his usual sarcasm.

“Yes, hotshot,” she said, pulling back far enough to look him in the eye. “That’s a  _ fuck  _ yes.”

They kissed again, Leonard sliding the ring onto her finger, and suddenly it was back to being a party, champagne flowing and Sara getting relentlessly teased as well as congratulated. The diamonds sparkled in the lights, but all she could focus on was the thrilled smile on Leonard’s face.

Rip and Gideon approached and Sara braced herself as Gideon gave her a wicked little smile.

“So,” she said, “you love us, huh?”

Sara rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it. Gideon seemed pleased enough with that response.

Rip gave a little cough. “A rather untraditional proposal, as proposals go.”

“Yeah, well,” Sara shrugged and glanced at Leonard. “You weren’t acting normally.”

“Try hiding an engagement ring from a trained assassin and see how normal you act,” Leonard drawled, but the triumphant grin still on his face ruined the tone a bit.

Sara returned it, flying high, but brought down a bit suddenly. “Wait, but what about the work distribution on your laptop?”

Something clicked in Leonard’s eyes, and he glanced at Rip, of all people.

“Ah,” Rip said, shifting uncomfortably. “That is...on me, actually. I asked Mr. Snart to remove you from the main active roster.”

“Why?”

“Well, running Legendary Security full time is going to eat a bit more into your schedule, especially at first,” Rip said, a flush on his neck as he went into full lecture mode. “You’ll be able to take on more missions as things settle down, but the transfer period is challenging. Lots of meetings and signings and reading to catch up on, not to mention -”

“Wait, what?” Sara said, blindsided for the second time in one evening. Only Leonard’s arm around her waist seemed to keep her from swaying.

Rip cleared his throat, the noise drawing the attention of most others around them. “I am stepping down as head of Legendary Security and want you to take over.”

Sara stared at him, and Rip continued.

“Mr. Snart and I have been working to get everything transferred over in your name, but it was taking some time, and we hit some complications. I didn’t want to say anything until it was certain.” He looked around. “After tonight, Sara Lance will be in charge.”

“Way to go, Blondie,” Mick said, setting off the rest of them.

“Woo!” Zari said, giving her a wink.

“Rip,” Sara said under her breath, “I don’t know if I’m the best choice.”

“Everyone here knows that you are, Ms. Lance,” Rip said. “You have grown into the beating heart and steady hand of this team. There’s no one I’d rather see it go to.”

Gideon gave her a nod. “We’re all behind you, Ms. Lance.” She grinned. “Or will it be Mrs. Snart?”

“Mrs. Cold,” Mick added with a guffaw.

“Thank you,” Sara said to Rip.

“It is my genuine pleasure,” he responded. “Now, I’m going to get comfortably drunk and suggest most of you do the same.”

The music was turned up, the alcohol flowing, and most of the rest of them seemed to move on. Sara watched it all, still feeling a little shocked at all of the changes.

Leonard, who hadn’t left her side, looked down at her. “Dance with me?”

Sara looked up at him, taking his hand. Leonard led them to the smaller dance floor, giving her a little spin before taking her waist in his other hand with a grin. It softened a little as he looked down at her, and he pulled her a little closer.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I never should have thought that you’d ask me to leave. I just thought…”

“I get it,” he answered. “I was hiding things about the transfer. And you know me too well for me to lie to you.”

“So that’s why you were avoiding me?”

“Out of my many stupid moves, that’s probably top five.”

She gave a little laugh, leaning against him.

“You know that I’d never want you to change,” Leonard said quietly. “I want you to be careful, but I don’t want you to stop being you.”

“I know.” Just like he’d never stop tearing apart the reputations of the most dangerous people in court. She’d never take that away from him, and she’d been so blinded by fear to think that he’d do it to her. He understood.

“You saved my life, too, you know,” she told him. “No one I’d rather spend it with.”

His mouth quirked up, and Sara grabbed his tie to tug him down to her level, kissing him deeply enough that she heard Mick making comments from the side. Lifting her hand, she flipped him off without breaking the kiss, hearing his laugh and feeling Leonard smile beneath her lips.

She pulled back just a bit. “I fucking love you, Len.”

“I figured,” he said, his eyes dancing with wonder. “Wanna go celebrate in your old room?”

“Like you even need to ask.”

She linked her hand with his, the rough diamonds glittering in the snow and starlight, and both halves of her heart felt full. They cut their way through the party, music still playing and cheers echoing in their ears, and went for the elevator. Sara pressed the button, Leonard brushing a kiss against her cheek.

They stepped in and pressed the button for Sara’s old floor. As the elevator doors began to close, Mick and Zari shouting crude comments at them and Rip rolling his eyes, and Gideon just grinning, and Ray and Nate exchanging money, and Leonard pulling her close and kissing her thoroughly and Sara was torn between wanting this moment to last forever and looking forward to her future. As Leonard pulled away and the elevator started to descend, she decided the future looked better, Leonard’s hands going to her hips and her hands already pushing off that blue jacket.

With Leonard at her side and her team at her back, the coming year was going to be fucking wild.

She was going to enjoy the ride.


End file.
